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 Posted: Sun May 04, 2008 2:14 pm
So here he is, in the south, near the weakest border. Without a team. In a normal situation, at a normal time, Wildcraft wouldn't be terribly concerned about taking on a solo assignment. But with the semi-recent discovery of the Spectre egg and the storm... well, this isn't a normal situation. And so he calls out as passes by various territories, hooting distinctively for available combatants. At this point in time he really doesn't care who he attracts, so long as they understand the nature of his call. Muscle is what he's looking for, nothing more. Meat shields, at the very least... and if he gets lucky, well, who knows?
The somewhat-smallish Wildtype is moving swiftly, not waiting to see if he is answered - if anyone is worthy of joining him then they'll be able to hear his call to action and follow along without too much difficulty.
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Posted: Sun May 04, 2008 2:42 pm
 After the storm had subsided, the aberrant ranger had helped Arbutus and Ename gather as many of the bats Bristletuft had hunted down in the cave and passed them to those who needed them the most. It was an odd task for Sandstorm; this meant that she was doing more unnecessary social interactions than she had ever wanted to go through, as well as making sure she didn't meet up with that crazy hunter ever again [lest she looses her focus and temper].
However, in a matter of days, she was back in her familiar territory where it was bare, silent, and most importantly: free of anybody else for miles. For the first time since the storm had started, she was back in a more tolerable mood, and feeling very good about herself, to boot.
With a ruffle of pride, she swooped her head down and tore at the very last bits of her earlier hunt and hungrily swallowed it whole. Nothing beats a large, plump skurri in the spring time! Before she could begin preening, though, a faint noise caught her attention. She paused, and flicked her ear-tufts towards where she thought she heard the sound...and there it was again!
She gripped at the branch she perched on a little tighter, and thought to herself. Normally it's completely barren at this time of night, and the sound couldn't be mistakable: it was a call. She could ignore it, and go on her way....but that wasn't like her. If her duties are needed, then she must respond.
She cried out in return and leapt into the air, flying in the direction where Wildcraft could be found at her top-most speed.
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Posted: Sun May 04, 2008 3:46 pm
Ah, contact! A faint grin creeps into his normally bland expression as he wings his way across the land, moving ever-southwards. One contact.. dare he hope for others? The Elite does not cease in his flight, trusting in the ability of the other to follow him as he continues on his way and deliberates on the other territories he knows of in this ward. ...no. No other likely combatants nearby, unless his memory has served him wrong.
So the Elite slows, finding himself a perch near a communal shelter, and taking a few moments to rest his wings. Who has answered his call? Female, by the sounds of it.. a Ranger, belike, this far from the Deep Woods. More than that he cannot tell, so he takes advantage of this brief respite to preen his flight feathers and make sure he is ready to depart as soon as his temporary team has arrived.
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Posted: Sun May 04, 2008 4:01 pm
It doesn't take very long for her to spy the smaller sentinel's silhouette perched in the distance, waiting. She was a bit thrown off by his size, at first, but then shook her head on the matter: Rune alone can prove that size does not matter when it comes to reliability in their sort of work.
With a few flaps, Sandstorm landed quietly on an adjacent branch from Wildcraft's. Immediately smoothing herself out, she gazed down at the Elite and wondered what on Noctua could he need so far from Deep Woods. "How may I assist you?"
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Posted: Sun May 04, 2008 4:15 pm
Bright eyes narrow as she approaches, taking careful note of her flight patterns, ability, and general appearance. No dye, clean technique, silent landing. She shows some promise, thankfully, so he's not forced to make some lame excuse to remove himself from the responsibility of taking her on. "Wildcraft," the Elite introduces himself briskly, nodding once to her question and getting right to the point.
"We've had reports of some strange activity near the south border. Word came in via relay from one of the holes, telling of potential incursions from an unknown danger. We don't know any details at this time," and we don't need to know, is the unspoken suggestion. Or, at least, she doesn't need to know. "Have you seen anything strange, or heard anything from the local Scouts or Hunters?"
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Posted: Sun May 04, 2008 4:41 pm
"Sandstorm," She replied an introduction like-wise. She listened intently to what he had to say, and nodded in understanding. Aah...so that's what it was. There hadn't been much going on around the South border. In fact, it's been a little too desolate recently, and in her own excursions she had overheard what other sentinels had to say about the area that she contently calls 'home'.
"Since the storm ended, game has been even more scarce than usual out here, and I haven't been the only one to notice." She shifted her weight, thinking of the skurri that she had caught not too long from then. "I need to go deeper into the Woods or even further South to find anything decent to feed on, and so have other hunters and scouts on passing."
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Posted: Sun May 04, 2008 4:56 pm
"That fits," he replies cryptically, canting his head to one side as he gives her a more thorough looking over. "How combat-ready are you? Any training in anything other than hunting? Noctus only knows what to expect out here, and it looks like you're my only back-up." The smallish Elite seems to be entirely ignorant of the odd nature of his request, considering his obvious size difference.. he must be fairly confident in his own abilities, at least.
"Border patrol is scant down here, as you know. We'll head due south and fly along one of the holes, searching for signs of incursions." Incursions of what, precisely, he does not say. "I'll take the high, you take the low. If you hear or see anything, call out. Anything goes wrong, you head for the Deep Woods and don't turn back. Understand?"
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Posted: Sun May 04, 2008 5:36 pm
An eye-brow ridge is raised at his next request, but she keeps her smart comments to herself. Despite his size, she can tell that he isn't the kind of sentinel you'd want as an enemy, and so: she complies, however bizarre the question may seem. "I would say more so than the average ranger, at the very least. I've recently come out of a bout with a large badger without any injuries, along with the help of three others, including an Elite."
She had taken great pride in this, as it's been the most 'action' she had seen since she took on the task as a ranger. It thrilled her to be in that sort of panic-laid position, at least, much more so than just sitting around and staring at a spot.
Though really, incursions? This peaks her curiosity, and is disappointed when Wildcraft does not elaborate. Perhaps that tiny spectre is only the beginning...how exciting.
"Of course," she replies with a curt nod of her head.
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Posted: Sun May 04, 2008 6:48 pm
Badger? He squints again, her prideful statement triggering something in his memory.. but when Wildcraft is on assignment, he thinks of little else. So Sandstorm's claims are filed away, to be considered at the appropriate time, and he does nothing more than nod in response. She can fight then, or, at the very least, she can stay out of the way while he takes care of things. With any luck, though, "This is nothing more than a search-and-report assignment, we are to avoid conflict unless victory is certain. The decision to engage is mine alone, and if I tell you to break away and head for the Centre then I expect you to find your superiors and report immediately."
And with that he gives his feathers one last quick go-over before launching himself off the perch, wings snapping out smartly to catch the air, the precision and skill with which he moves speaking more of his expertise than his words ever will. "Do you know of anyone else nearby?" He asks, speaking loudly enough to be heard mid-flight, not turning to look at her.
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Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2008 8:38 pm
Avoid conflict? If she must. Perhaps the assignment isn't as exciting as she was hoping it would be....or, he's holding out on information from her. That could very well be it – Sandstorm hardly believed that it's a mild problem if an Elite had flown out all the way out here to investigate the decrease of prey. That sort of thing could easily be the effect of the recent storm.
"Yes," was her response to his commands, and before she could say anymore than her simple quip, he was already off. With a start, she quickly pushed herself off from the branch she had perched on and caught her own gust, ready to show just what she was made of.
It took a couple of swift flaps, but she managed to get herself parallel to Wildcraft, making sure that she matched his speed. "I vaguely recall another ranger a bit westward from here," she spoke as she tried to remember his name, "a ghost, rather large, and very quiet." That's right - he's one of the few who hadn't even attempted to befriend the aberrant, and for that, he was already on her good side.
"Would you prefer if I led the way?" After all, she did have a better idea where the other ranger was than Wildcraft did, and she was under the impression that the Elite wanted things done as quickly as possible.
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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 5:47 pm
"Lead on," he directs, nodding in response to her offer and slowing his pace a little to allow the Aberrant to take the lead. Unfortunately for Sandstorm, the Elite doesn't seem to be paying a great deal of attention to her flight skills. But then, he somehow appears to be paying attention to everything at once while not paying attention to anything in particular.
Unless the ranger is a chatty sort, she'll find that Wildcraft flies in complete silence. He has no difficulty keeping up with whatever pace she chooses to set, and even deviates from the route she is leading him on to allow his keen gaze to fall over more of the forest - while she flies the straight and narrow, he does sweeps to each side. If he was leading a team they would do the same thing for him, as that is one of the first things he teaches them. Unfortunately, Sandstorm hasn't had the benefit of one of his lessons... so his actions might seem somewhat ludicrous at first.
His thoughts lie on the task ahead, but his stony expression betrays nothing. The havoc brought on the wings of the storm has broken more than sections of the forest - lines of communication have been severed, and the Elites are effectively flying blind. It's exhilarating, not knowing what dangers he may face on this mission.
((If Sandstorm will continue to lead him without conversation, surr, then we could skip ahead to an arrival and let Mori bring Stormbringer in to speed things along! I'm flexible either way.))
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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 8:12 pm
(that sounds like a good plan to me, since Sandstorm isn't the talkative one unless she needs to be)
Several harder, faster flaps of her wings easily carried Sandstorm ahead of Wildcraft, and with a flick of her tail and a tilt to her wing span, she changed directions just slightly more westward. If her memory serves her right, the sentinel she was thinking of frequented not too far from here. She turned her head to make sure that the Elite was comfortably following her, only to find him ....doing strange, strange things.
What in Noctua? It was as though he could no longer hold on to a straight line if he tried to, with his zig-zagging sweeps. Why, he resembled more of a hummingbird in flight than what he truly was! After a few minutes of watching him [as well as continually checking ahead to make sure she was staying on her course], she realized what he was doing, and then promptly scorned herself for not realizing it sooner.
Completely focusing her attention onwards now, she realized that they really only had a couple of miles to go. "We're almost there," she stated, followed by a piercing cry to warn the other Ranger that they were on their way towards him, and quickly.
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Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 9:12 am
Upon hearing the distinctive call, ghostly eartufts twitched at the urgency and the ranger quickly judged the direction, his head snapping from thought and towards the end of his territory. He peered as best he could around the trunks and branches, making sure he wasn't missing any obvious danger, then leapt from the branch, flapping strong, painted wings in the direction of Wildcraft and Sandstorm.
Stormbringer sped out of his territory with a hoot in reply, eyes peeled as he searched the forest for the others. It was odd, hearing such a cry all the way here in the western borders, and for him, no less. His curiousity piqued and he gave another great push, flying higher to improve his scope of the woods.
Spotting the wildtype and the abberant in the gloom, the larger Sentinel tilted his wings and fell towards them, righting himself between the two, taking the middle ground. Turning his head to regard the two momentarily, he vaguely recognized the female, and noted the other's chevrons.
"I heard your call," his voice was low and serious, and he looked ahead as he flew, preferring minimal eye contact. "I am Stormbringer. How may I be of service?"
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Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 9:36 am
"This way," he calls, wheeling aside crisply to alight upon a convenient branch. Giving orders on the wing is all well and good in most situations, but he needs to take a report from this new fellow as well. And it never hurts to take a few moments to regain your bearings before rushing off again. "Sandstorm, sweep the lows directly to the south while I bring Stormbringer up to speed. We'll catch up soon, and continue on together. I'll take point, and the highs. You and Stormbringer will each sweep the lows behind me, one to each side. Keep each other in sight at all times, and don't fall too far behind."
Orders given, he turns his attention to the large ghost male. Big fellow, interesting choice of feather dye. A little flashy for his tastes, but it obviously doesn't get in the way of the job. "We're investigating reports of suspicious activity - or a lack thereof - at the border south of here. There are no further details to go on, and we have no back-up. Orders are to find out what is happening, that is all. Do not engage unless I give a direct order, and if anything goes wrong you head for the Deep Woods and don't turn back. Understand?"
It's obvious that the Elite expects nothing more than simple obedience from the Ranger - he's launched himself into flight before he has even finished speaking, and calls back with another question as he climbs. "Have you seen anything suspicious in your patrols since the storm?"
((Feel free to 'notice' anything you'd like in your sweeps, within reason. If you're not sure what's within reason, then PM me to ask!))
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Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2008 9:12 am
Following quickly after the Elite, Stormbringer folded his wings tightly as he perched, dark beak moving windblown feathers back to their place. He listened carefully to the orders given to Sandstorm and himself, brow line creasing in concentration and acknowledgment.
"Your orders are understood, sir," nodding his head, he replied, having no intention of arguing and seeing no room for it even if he did. He admired the Elite - he was in control, and commanded one's attention with the smallest of efforts. He watched Sandstorm take wing and fall away, and he spread his wings and did the same, tail shifting as he tilted his body, weaving around the trunks and into place.
The Ghost blinked at the question, watching the forest in front and below him for a brief moment as he flew. Thinking on the days past, he called up to Wildcraft as he swept inward. "Only the quiet after the storm, and the lack of prey in the outer-wood. Even passing the borders to drive game in has brought little luck, as the animals have remained hidden, sir."
Another thought floated to the front of his mind, and he thought to ask of it, but did not want to seem intrusive. After all, it had been only a few days and rescuing and rebuilding - damage assessment - had been the main priority. Only noticing the debris of broken limbs and fallen trunks and spying the aberrant a ways off through the trees, he called again to the Elite. "Have you heard anything on the egg shards that were turned in from the borders that evening?"
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