[PRP] The Hunt Begins (Eli, Haevan, Seth, Hunter, & Kamiko)

[Kuuro Kitten]

"Who are they? They look nothing like us." The voices were hushed but guarded as the patrons of this world wondered about the animal half people. While they looked human they couldn't be completely. One of the girls from the small group smiled growing curious from here place in a tree. She had never seen a creature like them.

"Can we go meet them? They don't look like trouble." She beamed smiling toward the female K9. "She's so pretty." the girl thought out loud while slipping out of the tree for a closer look. She had been about to move even closer, if only for a peek but strong hands moved faster to hold her in place.

"We do not know what they have come for. They may seem harmless but there is something peculiar about the group." Though it could easily be their outward appearance he couldn't leave it all up to the obvious.

Nox didn't know what to make of it but decided his best approach was to be the first to speak. If any of them were hostile he had the backing of his kin to protect him from any harm, aside from his own abilities. For now he moved with a soft but determined gate, stopping just short of a slop that lead to where the group stood. "You are not kin to these lands so I ask that you state your business here." Nox had no clue and was not about to assume.

[Will try to provide a little bit of help with side bars but for the most part you can take over these guys if I can't get around to it.]  

[Seth_Avi]

It was an interesting experience really, traveling together in a group like this, all working together with their own unique set of abilities. Cheetah may have been rather solitary hunters in the wild, but Seth was truly quite grateful for the others' help in this. The sooner they found Noe and were safely back in gaia, the better.

His ears twitched lightly at the hushed sound of voices. We are being watched, he thought to himself, suppressing a growl as he looked about to find the source of the sounds. Soon enough however, one human showed himself. How much is safe to say? Seth wondered to himself, the end of his tail twitching back and forth behind him. If they are the ones we are supposed to meet here, then they could help us find Noe. If they are with whoever stole Noe however, they could simply take her to run and hide. It was quite the predicament really. Finally, he decided to go with a simple and vague answer. "We are here in search of someone," the cheetah replied, clearly as skeptical of the man as he was of them. "And what 'business' have you with us?"  

[Ruriska]

The jungle loomed behind them and Hunter watched with all senses on alert as the others began stepping into the shade of the trees. They could use the cover to get a grip on their location in this world. His ears twitched, catching the soft whispers that were almost drowned in birdcall. Much too close for his liking. He gave a small noise to alarm the others and then waited.

It wasn’t long before a man stepped forward. Hunter readjusted his grip on his knife, watching every move that was made. One hint of hostility and he’d be on Nox in a second, ready to beat some answers out of him. But for the moment he allowed Seth to speak.  

[Byagane319]

Kamiko placed a paw on Seth's shoulder. "Do try to be polite. This isn't our world do not forget and we did just land in the middle of their village without warning," Kamiko frowned at the hostile cheetah. Yes they were in a world Noe might be captured but she wanted to give everyone the chance to prove they had some good in them. Maybe it was her superhero training that made her act as such. She stepped forward and bowed a bit to the male who had appeared.

"Please forgive my friend's rudeness. He is upset and not quite himself. My name is Inu. We are looking for our friend who has gone missing. We believe she may be here or may have come past here. We apologize for simply appearing in your home but it was hard to pinpoint a landing," she smiled friendly enough with her tail wagging. She used her alias and did not mention any of her companions by name.

"Can you tell us where we are exactly. I think we may be a bit lost ourselves," she looked back to the man. She could smell others near by, her ears twitching.  

[AnimeEyeshime]

"You are confused and cautious; we mean you no harm," the kuppy spoke up from the back, feeling useful at last. Eli was almost certain the man before them--and the others nearby out of sight--did not have Noelani. They would've seen a Hyte before, which he guessed was the source of confusion...and curiosity. If they had Noelani, he figured there would be some underlying fear. It would be impossible not to correlate the group of hybrids' sudden appearance with a hybrid's disappearance.

"You should probably tell the others to come out," he added with a small smile. "If they're curious, they might as well get a good look." He realized Seth and Hunter especially probably would not be thrilled with his suggestion, but the sooner they got over the preliminary posturing, the sooner they could find out if this man and his companions actually had information that could help them.  

[leon_a_darkangel]

Haevan glanced back at Eli and gave him a sort of weird 'are you kidding me' look, but overall the wolf did not complain. It went without saying these people lacked the hostility of would be captors.. and from the hushed whispers his ears had made out curiosity certainly seemed to be the underlying theme of this meeting. It just put his people; and make shift pack in danger. That alone had made the hair bristle on his neck.

Glancing back at the new comers he inclined his head in a semi polite fashion, willing to play nice if the negotiators on there side felt it portent. Rolling his shoulders he shifted his weight to one foot idly glancing between Seth, whom looked ready to rip the stranger in half, Kamiko trying her best to be polite, Eli and his public relations, and Hunter..who like Seth would just has soon gutted the man.

"Aye." he added quietly, preferring these would be people in thier midst to show themselves verse be left guessing. The wolf at least tried for neutral a half smile on his face, but even as he tipped his hat down to shade his amber eyes he remained watchful. This wasn't a social gathering back at the Hyte building, they were potentially here to kill them. He'd reserve judgement for now.  

[Kuuro Kitten]

Nox watched each of the creatures carefully, noting each of their languages by body movements and gestures. Although he heard what had been spoken he listened closer to their body language, a language his people were keen to acknowledge. Upon the kuppy's response to the others, the trees and bushes bustled with life, all matter of weapon trained on the small group as the village seemed to bleed from the trees, shrubs and every matter of nature that could cover them from view.

Quite literally the group was surrounded without much effort. The young girl who'd been quite curious slipped forward with a giggle, smiling kindly. "Papa is very strict about meeting new people. Although you aren't people are you..." She wasn't sure how to word it but was curious to know why kind of 'people' they were. "I'm Silah and my papa is Nox. We don't know about this friend of yours but there has been some unusual movement at the bounty camp site."

Nox sighed relaxing himself just enough to speak but his eyes remained trained on the two most hostile of the males in the group. "If you are not from here then you will need to know there is a split of equally trained men and women for hire. Hunters, assassins and bounties... of them the bounties are surprisingly the most dangerous and unpredictable. At the very least hunters and assassins are hired hands to do a job, they live by a strict law and follow through with their mission to the end. Once their contract is up they return to their base. It's the bounties one would worry about, they call themselves that to differentiate against the assassins and others. They are a dangerous bunch who follow no laws or rules. Whether hired for a job or not they will do as they please." Nox nodded in thought then gave Inu a curt nod.

"I apologize but I don't have much info. You could find more at the hunters camp they have connections in most places around this world. I would hope your friend is not caught up in anything serious. If so, it is likely they have a job put out on them... what the job is will depend on the person who submitted it." It was a shame he could not help further but providing what information he could was better than allowing the group to go into their search blindly.

"Go east of here and you'll come to the hunter camping grounds. They could provide some help but I would advise having money. They don't work for free." With a simple gesture a man stepped forward with a bag filled with coins. "I don't know if this will be enough but going without funds is dangerous. The hunters are more responsive to someone who is willing to pay. If you can speak their language then you're sure to get some help there. I wish you all well..." Though they stood out like a sore thumb in this world, there were far stranger things out there in this barren land. It was sheer luck they would land in the only forest area on this world.

[ A completely barren land outside of the Lux forest. I'll probably send responses through my navy email to Elf. She can post my replies in the thread for everyone since I can't get online after today. ]
 

[Byagane319]

Kamiko smiled to the girl and knelt down to be more on her level. She normally would pat her head but she did not know the customs and rules of these people nor did she want to appear hostile towards the child. Children were so much more willing to give people a chance, even if they did look strange. Plus making nice with the kiddos might help the others realize they were not a threat. At least she wasn't, Hunter and Seth were being asses in her opinion.

"Hell Silah, it is very nice to meet you. And no, we are not "people" as it were. Each of us bears the blood of an animal in our veins. So parts of us look like animals," she chuckled a bit, "I have a dog's blood. So I have a tail, ears, and paws like one. But I also have excellent sight, smell, and hearing abilities."

She looked to Nox, Silah's father, as he spoke and nodded gratefully. She stood to take the bag from the male, seeing as the others were slightly more hostile in their stance. She did her best to show a relaxed and welcoming posture, especially with the child so close to her. She looked back to Silah and smiled again. She reached into her pack and slowly, so the others would not get excited, removed a small silver bracelet. It poor a small pendant with "IW" on it.

"Here you are Silah, to remember us by. And to thank you for your kindness," she smiled again before returning to her group. "Ok guys, looks like we got some information. Were to next?"  

[elfgurl1234]

Of course I remember that. It is precisely because we are in a foreign world that we should be more cautious, the cheetah thought to himself as Kamiko stepped forward to greet the man. Well, there went the point of his previous vague answer. Ah, and there went Eli joining in the fray. Naturally. Well, Eli's an empath. If he senses no mal-intent from anyone then it's probably alright, Seth thought to himself, relaxing only slightly. He still chose to err on the side of caution however. Honestly, the Hyte wasn't trying to come across as hostile as he seemed to be. He was only overly worried of what would happen to Noe, and therefore wasn't quite his normal self. He was really just trying to be more careful than anything else.

He tensed slightly again when they were suddenly all surrounded, but otherwise tried not to react. Lovely. We had best hope they are friend and not foe. The cheetah listened intently as Nox spoke, ears perking slightly at the term 'bounties' and making a quick mental note of the three different groups. It was a pleasant surprise when the bag of money was brought forth, and one that made Seth feel slightly guilty considering his earlier distrust. "Thank you," he said sincerely, relaxing a little bit more than before. He normally would have never accepted such a thing, but Noe's life was at stake here. They had no time to waste. "Let's head east then. Perhaps these hunters might have picked up more information during their jobs."  

[leon_a_darkangel]

Haevan's ears perked, flicking foreword as he listened a slight tilt of his head as he followed along with the conversation. Inserting...they had the fortune of dumb luck on there hands. The real question was however how well would this streak of luck play out?

No point in dwelling on what they didn't know, what little help these people had provided was better then wandering in the dark however. "Aye, thank ye." He inclined his head, eyes still rolled up peering past the brim of his hat however. "Regardless 'ah the trials we gotta do what we must." The wolf smiled then, shifting his pack with a light tug and giving the group a nod. "'ah wish ye safe travels, 'n ta walk with the earth 'n moon." he turned back to the little group gathered amongst them, brow knitting together, nodding in agreement to moving out.

"Considerin' they were willing to help..fer a time we're alright. Till we leave these forest lands." Haevan noted chewing on his lower lip thinking. "Best we can do 's keep movin'"  

[Ruriska]

The raccoon remained on guard, watching Kamiko interact with the child and the father. The information was useful, however at the same time they could easily be telling a lie. Kamiko was acting far to friendly with the locals for his liking. As long as he was on another world he wouldn't trust a soul; however for now he would allow the others to choose the course.

Hunter frowned. “Not everybody can be trusted.” He warned, ears flicking back from irritation. “They could easily be hiding devious intent.” He fell silent, eyeing Nox with an expression that clearly said 'you'd better not being screwing with us'. “But as it's the only lead we have, let's go.”  

[AnimeEyeshime]

Eli too had tensed at the sudden surrounding--his control was not exact enough with strangers to get more than a general sense of them and he had not been expecting that many to be out of sight. Still, as the native villagers gained the upper hand, they actually relaxed, which helped him to relax.

He felt Nox was sincere in his aid, and reasoned that even if the man was only helping out of self interest, the information was probably still genuine. And the offer of coin was generous; they'd have to figure out the best way to repay these folk when all was said and done. He offered a respectful deep nod in acknowledgment but decided he was better off waiting to speak--waiting until the group had started moving east away from the villagers, actually.

"If they were hiding devious intent," the kuppy told Hunter dryly and with a fair amount of minor irritation himself (probably in a reflection of the raccoon's own mood), "I think I'd know about it. Or they'd be blank, which is suspicious in itself. Either way, I can't not feel everything in a wide radius at the moment." He realized belatedly that Hunter probably wasn't aware of the kuppy's nature, and added, "Oh, did you know I'm an empath?" He felt like bursting into hysterical laughter, but managed to refrain--

He really hoped the bounty hunters were the neutral party they could coordinate communications with.  

[Seth_Avi]

Seth was only half paying attention to the conversation going on between Hunter and Eli, instead focusing more navigating through the forest. He rather agreed with Haevan's notion that it was best to keep moving.

The group moved along for a while before finally reaching the end of the forest, from which point the land was barren as far as the eye could see. The cheetah Hyte wasn't particularly comfortable traveling about out in the open like this in a strange world, but it wasn't really as if they had much of a choice. At least on the plus side they would most likely be able to spot any enemies before they could be ambushed. After a while more, Seth thought he could see something off in the distance. "... does that look like a camp ground to you guys?" he asked, unsure if the others could see it or not. If one squinted though it appeared to be such. Hopefully it wasn't just some bizarre rock formation or anything of the sort.  

[Kuuro Kitten]

Off in the distance was indeed an encampment. Set up in plan view of the barren land that seemed to go on for miles. Either these hunters were bold or they were very stupid to have their camp set up as such. Either way, it was easier for the group to find the grounds if they continued on. However, only a trained hunter would know a blatant trap like this was to lure enemies into the open then trap them.

For under foot was a network of tunnels and byways, all set up to spring traps, transport food and supplies and even house the settlers in underground bunkers.

---- Choose one

If the group continued forward blindly they would undoubtedly be surrounded by the sentries that were keeping watch just below them. Surrounded on all sides, the group will have to surrender and be lead to the main camp for questioning.

If they choose not to continue a group of settlers from the main camp will meet with them demanding payment for traveling across their lands. (Be mindful they might even attack for the group being so obviously different in appearance). Show the bag of coins marked with Nox's insignia they may be less hostile but no less weary.

[ I'm back on land so I'll be posting regularly for a while. <3 ]  

[Ruriska]

Hunter half turned towards the kuppy, ears flickering backwards. His lips twitched downwards with obvious distaste for the male, red eyes glittering with a dark emotion.

“Oh I do apologise. I didn’t realise you’d turned into a mood ring. And do forgive me if I don’t trust your little ability in the slightest. You would clearly know if the inhabitants of a strange world that you had never visited had any inbuilt immunity or were capable of masking their intent on a level that you were incapable of reaching. Because you’re just that damn good.”

The Raccoon forcefully slid the knife he had been holding back into its sheath and instead unhooked his bow, running a finger along the string to test how strong it was. “If you don’t mind, Eli, I intend on remaining cautious about everyone on this planet whether you say they are friendly or not. I will not find myself with a hole through my chest thinking ‘oh, but Eli said they were nice.”

Turning away he brought the conversation to an end and moved out from the group as they continued on their way. When the odd encampment appeared before them in the distance Hunter halted, frowning at it. If he had been alone he would have simply approached it, ready to face the trouble he was certain would pop up. However, with everyone else here somebody could easily be taken down in the confusion of an attack.

“I suggest we wait before attempting to approach it. There’s something not quite right here.” A tingle had gone up his spine. They were being watched.