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

[Byagane319]

"Waiting is the more intelligent thing to do but where do we wait exactly. Its not like we have a lot of cover and being exposed to the elements will only make us weaker. We need more to this plan than "Sit, Stay." she flicked an ear rather irritatedly at Hunter. She already didn't like him and now he was insulting her boyfriend who had far more experience traveling worlds than perhaps Hunter. At least when it came to this, not to mention the missing person just happened to be Eli's sister.

For the time she remained silent, she had kept the bag of coins given to them by Nox. She hoped they were safe with their group now associated with them. She would hate for their actions to bring anything down on such a kind group.  

[leon_a_darkangel]

Haevan mused over there options, the thought of being caught..well to say the least wasn't pleasant. The likely hood of them doing something dumb enough as getting caught. Wouldn't that be a site the hunters becoming the hunted. "Guys. Stop. We aint... here ta fight like cats 'n dogs. We're here fer Noe." He added seriously staring at everyone in turn. The look passed however when he looked down at his feet and shook his head.

"Waitin' 'ah agree on..so long as eet ain't in the open." he added quitely looking amongst the group giving a small curt nod pulling his hat a little lower to shade his eyes. "Divin' inta there camp..sounds like a sucide mission." He sighed with a wry smile.  

[AnimeEyeshime]

Oddly, Hunter's disdain actually helped Eli regain some control, the focused emotions of the raccoon burning through some of the "noise" Eli was half overcome with--but it didn't stop him from making one last retort to the raccoon before dropping the subject. "I'm one of the few resources we've got here--and you'd be a fool to underestimate it and not to take advantage of the fact my empathy exists. You don't have to trust it blindly--but you should take its existence into consideration."

He remained silent as they traveled on to the end of the forest and then onto the dry land, gazing across the barren expanse to the just-visible encampment. As everyone else spoke their piece, he frowned, only half paying attention to his companions--he was getting a very odd reading. Glancing lower towards the ground and checking the surrounding underbrush didn't yield any results, so the kuppy dropped to one knee and placed a paw on the soil.

There were faint hints of human emotion coming from the ground. And that could only mean...

Tunnels! Elti was as surprised as Eli.

"I'm not sure cover will help us any," the kuppy said wryly. "If I'm reading this correctly--" he paused only a moment to shoot a glance at Hunter, "then they're underground. It is probably safer here than out there though," he added with a shrug.  

[elfgurl1234]

Waiting sounded all fine and good in theory, but wait where exactly? Being out in the open like this, the group was at a major disadvantage irregardless of what they decided to do. Plus, didn't that Nox guy say to try going to the hunters? How exactly were they supposed to find these people simply by standing out here in the open? His tail swished uncomfortably behind him.

Seth's ears perked slightly at Eli's revelation. Lovely. We're already pretty much surrounded before we even begin to get started, he thought to himself, carefully surveying the surrounding landscape for any signs of exit points in the sand. Well, perhaps if all went well these 'hunters' would be a reasonable bunch. They'd probably be finding out soon enough.  

[Kuuro Kitten]

As the group seemed bent on staying their ground the encampment opened to let three figures free, each one looking more drab and dishelved then the next but all had one thing in common. Weapons! No matter if it were a gun, bow, or knife they held them in plan sight moving up the path on horseback. Before the group could react all three individuals had already rounded the group into a tight circle. "What business do you have in these lands?" For all bounty hunters they knew the face of a bounty. These people were not them but one of the men gave an alarmed recollection.

"You must be her people." He didn't bother with formalities slipping off his horse to glare at the group while the other two remained saddled. "I am Flint. Tell me do you know her?" He had never gotten the kuppy female's name before she was ambushed and taken away from their care but as his eyes fell on the kuppy male he couldn't have been mistaken; these were her people. Flint, for all purposes looked far too young to be apart of a group of hunters but one would be unwise to underestimate his abilities. With a lopsided grin he pointed toward the encampment. "This is my base, I am the leader here but you can only pass if you pay the correct toll." He knew they had to have come through the forest and only one person would allow them to pass unharmed but Nox. Surely he would give them some coin to appease their trespassing.

On the off chance they wanted to fight he still had plenty of back up, from below ground, his encampment and the men who were present currently. "Well?" He pushed sounding more like an over prevelaged brat then a proud bounty hunter.  

[Seth_Avi]

It was at times like these that Seth seriously regretted not being trained in any weapons himself. He tensed as the three approached on horseback, and their group was quickly surrounded once more. Before he could even reply to the first hunter the second one spoke, and the cheetah's ears immediately perked up at his words. "Yes, we know her," Seth answered, amber eyes locked onto the one called Flint. There was no mistaking who this 'her' might be, for their existence was a unique one on this planet. He could only be talking about Noe. "We have the toll," he added, gesturing to the bag which Kamiko held. His tail swished restlessly behind him as he refrained from asking any questions about Noe just yet, as difficult as that was. They needed to get on these hunters' good side first before they could really start with the questions. Or at the very least make sure they weren't in danger of being stabbed or shot first while making the inquiries.  

[Byagane319]

Interesting, they obviously knew Noe. The look on their face when they saw Eli seemed to confirm that for her. As the younger man spoke of a toll Kamiko stepped forward with the bag with Nox's mark. The only woman of the group she was use to being underestimated herself. It was a common problem female warriors seemed to run into.

"Hai, we have the toll," she held the bag out to the man, her mask making it easier to withstand the bright sunlight of this desert area. It was like having built in shades.

"And yes we are her people if you want to call us that. I am Inu," she nodded to the man showing no fear of him in her dark eyes. Her curly tail twitched behind her, the only sign of her tense nature around potential enemies.  

[Kuuro Kitten]

Flint glanced at each person within the group before stepping forward to take the toll. He looked it over and sure enough Nox's ensignia was on the bag. Nodding he gestured for the group to follow him. No words were exchanged while they moved quickly toward the encampment. Any need to ask questions or discuss the situation with the woman was left for later. The heat from the desert could be quite brutal if one were not careful.

Once they were safely inside, Flint gave a heavy sigh before addressing the group. "I messed up." He muttered then shrugged as if his mistake were of little concern. "I had been tracking her but I had not taken into account that we were also being tracked... or rather monitored." Sure enough his idea to travel worlds and recruit hunters like himself had failed with the first trail. Though maybe he should have talked to the woman instead of just spiriting her away. Now he felt a little bad that her friends had traveled so far to find her only to find that she was no longer in his possession.

For whatever reason those bounty people thought she would hold some weight. For Flint it really meant nothing to have lost her. He had already planned to just let her rot where she was...

They didn't have to know that. He gave them a side long glance. "I do not want my people invovled in this resuce mission of yours. I admit it is my fault to begin with but I wash my hands of it." He was really beginning to sound like a petulant brat. As if he'd broken a toy that didn't belong to him so he didn't have to pay the owner for damages. "Since this is partly her own fault for getting caught... was she really a bounty hunter?" He asked suddenly, "Seems more like an amatuer. Maybe she needs more training or something..." Thinking out loud was bad for one's health but when you grew up surrounded by body guards and a whole development of followers saying whatever came to mind was just natural. "At any rate, I can only help you get to where they may be holding her..." As an after thought. "What's the woman's name?"  

[Seth_Avi]

The walk to the encampment was a silent one, although by no means relaxing. Suddenly very conscious of time, the cheetah Hyte did not want to spend any more time than was necessary in the search for Noe. That scream... The tv transmission from earlier was still very much present in his mind.

As the hunter finally started to speak, all thoughts of getting on his 'good side' flew out of Seth's mind. He could literally feel his blood-pressure rising as Flint carried on with his flippant speech. The cheetah Hyte had never felt such rage in his life. "Are you kidding me?!" he growled out furiously. He grabbed the man by the collar and pulled him close, teeth bared as he growled further. "You messed up?! You can't just 'wash your hands' of this! This is Noe's life we're talking about here!" He felt someone trying to pull him back, but he couldn't see who it was. He heard words, but nothing sunk in. The cheetah was seeing red by this point and he wanted nothing more than to maul the little brat before him who had put Noe in this dangerous situation and then dared to insult her at that.  

[leon_a_darkangel]

Haevan;; At this the wolfs gaze snapped to his old friend, Seth was likely going to get the all bloody damn well killed. As much as Flints words disgusted every fiber of the wolfs being....it didn't solve a damn thing to yell and scream. What had happened was now past and could not be changed. No one could blame him, yet some one had to stop him.

Moving foreword, without consideration if the other would lash out Haevan gabbed for the other. Following this the wolf growled at Seth and pulled him back and away from this man called Flint. "Seth! Damnit eet all control yer self, these people ain't 'r friends. They dun't owe us 'nthin'." His golden eyes blazed, namely from outrage. Certainly it concerned what was said about Noe, but also for Seth's uncharacterized actions. He'd have excepted Hunter to do something like this long before Seth..but then again Noe was Seth's mate.

Then again, it didn't make the situation any better. "Killin' 'm dun't solve a thing. Mebbe yer right ta get angry, but think before ya leap" The voice of reason for a broken soul. For what little good it would do.

The blue haired wolf tightened his grip on the other, namely to be certain and hold onto Seth. If he let go, the cheetah hyte would likely rip into the man, and they'd all be dead. Noe would die alone, and that would be the end of there journey. "Please Seth, control yer self. Keep Noe in mind, if we die she dies 'a lone."  

[Seth_Avi]

"Keep Noe in mind, if we die she dies 'a lone."

It was these words that finally sunk in and that enabled Seth to back down. Words of reason that managed to bring a semblance of sanity back to the cheetah Hyte. Oh God, what have I done. He didn't entirely regret his actions--he still wanted very much to rip Flint to shreds-- but his anger might very well have put Noe in even more jeopardy than she already was.

It was probably a good thing that Haevan continued to hold onto him, for the he could actually feel himself trembling in rage. Seth was an utter wreck of emotions right now, and was thus rather unstable. Ear flattened down on his head, the feline stayed silent, praying to God that his outburst wouldn't result in dire consequences.  

[AnimeEyeshime]

"We're not going to die here," Eli said, confident as he raised a paw, almost reaching out in front of him. Red, angry little sparkles seemed to rise from the ground like rain going backwards--they hovered in the air like a curtain around the ground, twinkling with odd menace. They separated the rescue group from Flint and his guards, but little else--at least for now.

Listening to Flint's words had filled Eli with fury as well--fury amplified from nearly everyone else. But the fury did not overwhelm him--it was channeled into a column of controlled rage. A column, he belatedly realized, that was Elti's presence in his mind.

No one harms my hoard, the Ti'ama said in her multi-toned voice.

And then the kuppy moved to speak, to address the bounty hunters--at this moment, he had the best advantage. "The fault remains yours, Flint," Eli said, his voice deadly calm and controlled. "The woman is my twin sister; harm to her is harm caused to me. If she is harmed--if she is dead--you will not long survive her." Glancing across the curtain to survey the others, he continued on. "Your people are not necessary; we require the information only. The sooner we find her--the sooner we shall leave. If she lives, then so do you. The choice is yours."

They'd already antagonized Flint and his group; Eli was making the best of it. And betting that these bounty hunters, tied by little else, would recognize blood-kin claim. It was an old, ancient bond, and he hoped invoking it was all the excuse he needed for his and his companion's behavior. He wouldn't be able to keep this up for long if emotions kept running this high--the situation needed to be defused, and fast.  

[Ruriska]

Hunter had fallen into a remarkably reserved state. He watched quietly as they were approached and the others dealt with the matter of the ‘fee’. The mention of Noe got no more than a slight frown. He studied the group that had come to meet them, letting his gaze slide over their weapons, judging how well they could use them. This Flint fellow certainly looked too young and foolish to be much of a match; but this was their livelihood. These were not soft people; they were fighters.

As they followed the three bounty hunters into their lair; Hunter’s expression grew darker. Once inside he shifted his balance, finger brushing along his knife and then reassuringly upon his bow. His gaze quickly assessed their new position before focusing in on Flint and listening to the story of what had happened to Noe.

As the man spoke so flippantly, the Hyte actually began to look rather amused. Seth’s outburst caused the raccoon to raise an eyebrow and Eli’s little speech and light show almost made him chuckle. So, this fellow had lost Noe to some other group. No matter. At least they knew where she was likely to be. Thus they would storm the place and get her back. Simple.

“Stop being so melodramatic.” Hunter snorted, tapping his knife again with his nails and stepping forward past Seth. His gaze focused on Flint and he gave a small shrug of his shoulders. “Hm, she does need a lot more training apparently. I’ll work on that when she gets back. In any case, you know where she’s being held. Give us the directions, supplies and everything we may need to get there.” He looked down at Flint imperiously. “I doubt we need any of your men to help us; since they can’t even manage to keep an eye on such an amateur as our Noe.”  

[Byagane319]

Kamiko kept a cool head as well. Granted she was angry but her training had allowed her to hide it well. Only her narrowed eyes within her black mask let it show. No sense in getting all riled up but she did understand Seth's feelings. She stepped up next to Eli, listening to him talk and make the not so veiled threat. Granted Eli was a competent fighter but his was magic based. Should they try something more physical she would be there to protect her boyfriend.

She placed an arm around Eli's, showing her agreement with his statement. She could feel the weight of her weapon in her backpack, but with them she doubted she would need it. There were plenty of shadows for the asian dog to use to her advantage.  

[Kuuro Kitten]

Somehow Flint managed to stay calm his men however did not moving in to surround those who would do him harm. "Stop!" He shouted to them keeping the group at a distance. Yes in some ways this was his fault but he would not have any blood spilled over some alien creature, not his people. Allowing the others to say his peace he remained silent hearing but not really listening. Threats were nothing knew he got them plenty from his own people and many more from outsiders. How did one manage a large settlement like this by being rash? They didn't.

He could see the anger in each of their eyes, but most assuredly the cheetah seemed the most taken by his emotions. Perhaps this was the young woman's mate? Had to be. He smirked only briefly before he was let loose to dust himself off and resume a smug composure once more.

When Hunter finally moved forward to voice himself the young boy seemed a bit taken. He gave his men a look which all of them returned with growls and murderous challenge. Putting his hand up to halt them he nodded. "Fine. We will supply you but as I stated. We won't help." And that was that. Whether they approved or not was none of Flints concern. As instructed his men quickly moved about doing as told supplying them with horses, a map with a general location of where she was at, they went over possible captive locations but all were speculation at best. By the time everyone was done going over everything, the group would be sattled up with provisions, a map and horses.

"I'll tell you this. For her to get free from us is one thing but to get captured by them is another. I admit we should have watched her more closely but once she escaped it was out of our hands." He shrugged. "We only meant to talk to her and send her back based on her answer. Too bad she didn't stick around." And it was truly too bad. Oh well...