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 Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2015 8:52 am
Talin lounged around, happily playing with his share of the loot gotten from the latest ambush. Oban merchants, he had discovered, were worth the risks! Better trained guards and often more of them there may be; but their wagons were loaded! He'd restocked on cloths, spices, and a few pieces of jewelry and there'd been so much left over he decided to 'give' some of it away. Generate good will towards his group among the local leaf villages who'd been hit the worse by the Obans. He was tempted to deliver some to the Matori in Neued.. . and let them know exactly where it'd come from. They'd probably get a kick out of that wouldn't they? His group was resting up, recovering from the wounds and showing off their pieces of loot. This was the biggest mark they'd hit so far; before it'd only been single merchants or a wagon with only a handful of guards.. not a three wagon group with enough guards to match the group. And they'd done well, enough to make Talin feel proud that he'd actually managed to convince (lie, bully, persuade) the others to actually use tactics. Pity they hadn't been able to kill all the merchants and guards.... but they'd gotten two wagon's worth of loot and hadn't lost a member though many were badly wounded. He was going to go off searching for a few more members soon, let his people heal and practice group fighting a bit more while he found some strong arms to join in. As he was thinking this, Lirik, who'd been out in town selling things to Bushi and probably giving his sweetheart gifts, approached him ;"Hey Talin. I heard some interesting things while in town. There's this shifter guy looking for you... Well.. the boss of our group at least. I don't think he's a hunter... maybe a recruit?" Talin narrowed his eyes; "Hmm... if it's a recruit is he promising?" If it was a hunter out to kill him, I'll will just have to end his life here and now. "Seemed strong to me! I can tell you where he's at so you can go meet him.. need backup?" "Nah. I'll be fine." Talin bounced to his feet with a grin; " You go back to that girl or stay here and rest with the others." Besides; lat fight he hadn't gotten enough fighting in! Stereochrome I never did quote you here... so here's a quote so you cna find this again later!
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Posted: Tue May 05, 2015 11:43 am
 Lately, Jauhar’s dark canopy did not call to him as it once had. His homeland, that had once seemed so vast and expansive, now started to seem almost… mundane, domestic even. He was no longer happy spending his days picking fruit, splashing through streams and getting involved in business that was never rightfully his to get involved in -- no, he wanted something more than hiding in the tree-tops and finding idle entertainments to pass time. A purpose, or an adventure, or even… companionship, maybe, something beyond the fleeting acquaintances he had made in his childhood.
So he headed towards Neued, armed with his new lance and determined to do something with himself.
What? That was the question.
* * *
But Ouen had a way of finding answers in unlikely places, and it wasn’t long until he had the one he was looking for. It came from a joyful family of travellers, who told him about a band of thieves who had given them badly-needed gifts of fine clothing and trinkets. The word was, these thieves robbed Oban caravans too rich for their own good, sly merchant types who profited off the lands that they had only recently been trying to conquer.
Ouen liked the sound of this -- this was a definite something.
* * *
A band of thieves, however, was not always easy to find. After arriving in Neued, it had taken him a few days of asking around to get anywhere. Some said that the thieves were long gone, others said that they were in town, and still some that they were hiding out in the surrounding jungle (which struck Ouen as the most likely option). Finally, one of those odd-looking young water folks approached him as he waited out on the edges of the marketplace.
“Someone wants to see you.” The kid mumbled, fiddling with a fin-shaped ear. “Over that way.”
* * *
Ouen found himself meeting the measuring gaze of a young man -- something around his age, and a Wind earthling by the looks of him. He hadn’t met many of those until now, as it seemed that they had not yet taken to wandering the deep jungle.
“You Talin?” He asked, propping his lance up beside him and angling his hips to casually lean against it. “I done heard some things about’cha.”
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Posted: Thu May 07, 2015 1:17 pm
Talin eyed the other; he was about his age... not a teenager anymore and confident! Always a good thing... except if this one was a hunter or going to challenge him. "I Depends on who's asking." He drawled as he flipped his dagger up and catch it, considering the shifter. Spears were useful... and he had ways of defeating them! Especially since Alkidikes used spears a lot; Talin had deliberately gone out of his ways to learn how to fight them just in case. I may be able to take him in a fight.. fair fight probably not.. but when do I ever fight fairly? This one looks like he could be useful.. and has a nice tattoo; Talin always liked tats; art was to be appreciated after all!
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Posted: Fri May 15, 2015 9:41 am
“I am.” Ouen shrugged, the two of them just looking each other over and waiting to come to some conclusion. The silent spaces did not seem awkward or uncomfortable, as if they both understood the process going through the others’ mind.
After a while, Ouen relaxed a little; Ouen usually looked relaxed, but now he let his lance sit lightly on his fingers, his hips tilting to support his casual frame.
“Heard you done robbed some caravans, shared the spoils with the locals an’ all that… I been lookin’ for somethin’ good to do with my time, these days, and I was thinking maybe that sounded like somethin’ I could do. Somethin’ I’d be good at, too, if you figure you could use the help.”
There was the sound of an inquisitive whirr; having heard his companion’s voice, a young radaku returned from an explorative trot around the marketplace to stand at Ouen’s side. Shenandoah was no longer exactly a pup, but far from full-grown. His shoulder reached up to the shifter’s hip, or thereabouts, and Ouen shifted his weight again so that he could lay an easy hand on his back.
“So, what d’you say? I ain’t beggin’ or nothin’, if you don’t wanna run with me then I’ll do it myself.”
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Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2015 8:49 am
Talin chuckled; "Well... didn't know word had spread already!Had to be sure you weren't one of those over eager 'noble' types out to rid the world of bandits." He had mixed feelings about that.... knowledge of his group could lead hunters to them... but there was also the whole helping others to protect them. Apparently my choice of targets and decision to build good will is working! "I'd much prefer to have you working with us rather than messing things up and potentially ruining any of our ambushes." He said as he eyed the young radaku. His old group had ridden radaku mounts... he never had joined in, preferring to slip silently through rather than charge in on a beast; "You any good in battle? You look like you can fight... but appearances are deceiving,"
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Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2015 9:32 am
robot kitten can totes do a battle between 'em if you wanna squeeze one in? or they can just do a staredown idk. xD
“That’s what I figured -- thought I’d offer to play on your side first, y’know. Common courtesy an’ all that.” It was a bit of a lie; Ouen knew very little about being a bandit, and if he was to set off on his own… well, he wasn’t sure how well he’d do. He was only one man, after all, and still relatively inexperienced with the lance he now held. Some of the caravans he’d seen passing through the jungle were heavily guarded, and the ones that weren’t -- the ones that were owned by honest merchants, just trying to make a living -- those he didn’t particularly want to target.
“Yea, I can fight.” The shifter shrugged when Talin challenged him, standing upright and hefting his lance casually in his hand. “How exactly d’you plan on makin’ me prove it?”
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Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2015 2:37 pm
"A wise choice... So long as you don't mind blood on your shiny new spear." He smirked; "Banditry isn't all fun and games." Unless you loved fights like he did, than it was! Except when your group decided to be stupid and not follow orders... "Proving.. hmm... A duel perhaps? I use knives, though I'm fast so don't think longer reach gives you too much of an edge." It gave him none in fact! Talin was just as adept at throwing as he was at getting in close and personal. And if that didn't work, he could always just step on the spear and get inside its range. He loved fighting people who though daggers meant he was easy prey! Their shocked expressions when they died were so lovely!
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Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2015 10:25 am
“I don’t mind blood.” Ouen shrugged (despite having seen very little of it, in actual fact). “If someone deserves bleedin’, I’ll gladly take care of it for ‘em.”
It wasn’t likely that the young lancer understood exactly the sort of banditry Talin had in mind – but then again, perhaps that was for the best. He hadn’t ever experienced much killing one way or another; for money or for any different cause. He’d stayed away from the war as a child, and preferred not to think too much about the one Oban death that had occurred at his hands (although he wouldn’t ever stop bragging about it, at the same time).
As it was, all he knew was that Talin was an outlaw, that he was famous for it, and that the people were on his side. And he wanted the same.
“I’ll take you on, if a duel’s what ya want. I won’t go easy on ya on account of your daggers… figure if you weren’t no good with ‘em, you wouldn’t have made it this far.”
“S’pose you an’ me oughta find someplace more quiet?” He proposed then, seeing as they were still within a settlement (and in view of many prying eyes). “Don’t wanna cause no fuss ‘round ‘ere.”
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Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2015 11:07 am
Stereochrome I'll have Talin react based on how well you think Ouen is at sneaking. Talin will be trying to lose him in the jungle.. so have fun! Talin smirked; this one didn't sound too jaded... I'll put him with Ingwe then. That way the gullible innocents can stick together and be ignorant together. "There will be blood. The Obans always put a good fight. But then they have this thing called honor and duty that make them such dangerous opponents. Fun though." he chuckled and sheathed his dagger. "Well.. you'll do for now... follow me back and I'll see how well you can move through the jungle and test your fighting skills back at camp." This was a shifter who lived in Juahur after all, boy had to know something to survive for so long! From what Talin had seen, shifters took training seriously; they had to with Alkidikes on one side and a very dangerous jungle all about. He walked away from the town; if Ouen wanted to join, he'd have to follow. Once he had left eh jungle, Talin quickly scaled a tree and began to silently slip through the canopy and shadows. He didn't head straight towards camp; that would be asking for hunters to follow. Instead he took a round about path, trying hard enough to not leave a trace, but not so hard that he left Ouen behind.
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Posted: Wed Jul 22, 2015 9:50 am
robot kitten fwee! sorry it's been a while, soooo busy. anyhow yes. Ouen's p. good at sneaking/moving, but he's no tracker
But when Talin announced that he was going to test Ouen’s abilities in the jungle, the shifter grinned easily and forgot about all the Obans. This sounded like a fun game!
The Wind earthling disappeared into the undergrowth, and Ouen quickly followed with Shenandoah on his tail. He couldn’t afford to let the other get too far out of sight (or earshot). Moving quickly through the trees was a piece of cake for him (what agility he had lost by donning shoes and light armor he made up for with increased reach and strength). But tracking… that wasn’t exactly one of his specialties. Still, as long as he could stay on Talin’s trail, following him would not present a problem.
Wasting no time, he launched himself into the trees and followed the tell-tale tremors of the branches Talin had passed on his way. Soon enough he glimpsed a flicker of red fabric, and picked up his pace while climbing way above the other in the branches.
The best way to keep Talin from trying any clever tricks, he figured, was not to let the other know just how close he was.
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Posted: Wed Aug 19, 2015 1:41 pm
Talin chuckled to himself at the boys words. Honor and obans... no Tendajians did not look upon the Obans as honorable.. .and yet despite the slavery and their sense of superiority they did indeed have honor. Especially within their army... And it was the army and patrols that his crew kept running into! The boy will see soon enough he thought as he kept an eye on the lad. Boys got some promise, he thought as Ouen kept up with his pace. He's got practice with following in the trees at least! Talin smirked and leaped up to a different branch, and swung over to another.. and then another, hopping and swinging on vines rather than just sticking to one tree or a straight path. Eventually he stopped and hid himself among some thick foliage near where flowers, vivid purple and red, stood out along their thick vines. Lets see how good he is at dealing with an ambush....
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Posted: Fri Aug 21, 2015 9:59 am
How’d a Wind earthling get to be so good at moving through the trees, anyway? In Ouen’s experience, anyone who wasn’t born in the jungle tended to waver when they were made to clamber up a tree, even if it was the safest and most sensible place around. But this Talin fellow was quicker than most shifters he knew… quick enough to worry Ouen, who now had to deal with shoes, armor and a long lance.
He knew that Talin had stopped -- the trees stopped moving and the vines were no longer swaying in his passing. But where had he gone? The shifter also grew still and silent, and found no clues by which to find the other.
It wasn’t long, however, until Shenandoah caught up with them, looking up into the trees and locating his companion with ease. Ouen let go of the branch he was holding and slithered down to join the radaku on the ground. It may well have been a good choice -- a moment later the animal whipped about in a full turn and trotted towards a flower-covered tree, apparently to sniff at something.
Ouen kept his fingers on the shaft of his lance.
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Posted: Thu Nov 12, 2015 12:05 pm
Talin waited till Ouen stopped and was about to attack when the radaku showed up. He swallowed a sigh when it easily picked out his spot. Well... Animal noses were better than earthling ones! "Not bad." he said as he stepped out from his hiding spot, deciding not to risk getting bitten by an over eager pet. "But you shouldn't rely on the beast to give my spot away... What if I'd had an ally above. While you were focused on me, they would be attacking already." On the other hand, having the radaku as a partner was a smart choice; what he couldn't rack the beast could.. Boys got brains at least! I ought to get one of those, Talin thought. Or something like it.
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Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2015 6:10 am
After a moment, the leaf man stepped back out into the opening, critiquing Ouen’s dependence on the radaku.
“Shen’s just bein’ helpful.” He shrugged, not wanting to admit that the animal was… well, barely trained at all, and pretty much just did whatever he felt like doing. Ouen was certain he wouldn’t be able to get him to track on command, if it came down to that… he was just fortunate that the radaku was curious, and liked sniffing around in general.
“Anyway,” He flicked a wrist at the man’s next comment. “Maybe you or your ally could hide in the jungle easy -- hell, anyone with half a brain can hide in the jungle easy. But attackin’ without alterin’ either me or Shen is a whole other matter, yeah? I know how to defend myself. So. Are you done testin’ me, or is there somethin’ else you had in mind?”
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Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2015 10:22 am
Stereochrome not sure how large your radaku is.. hope you don't mind if I assume not completely full grown and capable of being ridden. Talin chuckled at the lad's forward words. "Oh I think you'll be good for now! I could probably sneak up on both of you if I had a bit of preparation and the will to do so." He declared confidently with a smirk. He was proud of his sneaking skills and bet he could do so if he wanted; but then he was confident and almost arrogant in almost all his actions and abilities. "While I never trained radaku's, a few of my compatriots have and rode them as well... It'll be you can find them rather helpful if you need help with.. Shen." He looked at the radaku; it probably needed a bit before it was strong enough to be a mount.. but he did like the idea of having a group of radaku riders; they'd be useful in running down the faster merchants that rode xaran and janarim. "Test is over; welcome to the group Ouen." He said with a smile; "Now all you have to do is keep up with me as I show you where a base is! Try not to leave traces behind you for others to follow; we are after all.. bandits. And bandits need to keep their bases safe from hunters."
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