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 Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2009 8:55 pm
Private RP between Eli, Kell and Uzi (ladyumbra) & Kaosu ( count Kaosu)
Location: Wastelands
Time: late evening
Weather: scattered clouds, moonlit, chilly.
A small fire crackled merrily as Eli sat before it waiting for the tin kettle of water and instant coffee mix hanging over the flames to finish boiling. The green eyed man wanted another cup before the night was through. The drink might keep him up another hour but no more than that, caffeine had a limited effect on him. Mostly Eli just wanted to go to bed with a full stomach but he wasn't in the mood to cook at this hour.
Uzi watched Eli with dimly lit yellow eyes, the essentic was bored, they'd not found anything of interest yet on this trip and tonight was a rest night not a hunting in the dark one. The cat like proto wasn't tired, didn't need rest they'd only just headed out earlier that evening. Flicking it's tail back and forth in irritation Uzi supposed it understood the need to camp though, for the non armored and more fragile human and dog to have shelter during the cool desert evenings. Still, they could have waited a few more hours to make camp.
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Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2009 11:07 pm
Kaosu had spent far too much time in the city lately.
There was something different about the open wastelands. Sure, they were barren. Dangerous. Mysterious and unforgiving. All of that was only part of their appeal. They had clear, pristine skies, untainted by light pollution. They were lonely, empty, and usually peaceful. They lacked crowds, schedules, and status quos. Best of all, the open plains meant freedom. Here Kao could eke out his strange, reckless living completely unhindered.
Having been roaming aimlessly for weeks, by now the tramp had exhausted his food supplies. Therefore, tonight he was hunting... in a peculiar sense. Although he did not mind shooting some dinner every now and then, animals were not his usual prey. He survived off of suckers. His methods were unreliable maybe, but eventually without fail he always came across some fool (or towns of them) who did keep a close enough eye on his possessions. If he wandered long enough, surely he would come across a stranger sooner or later?
Sooner was the word. Under the glow of the moon, Kao spotted the smoke from a campfire on the near horizon. Curious, delighted, and wary all at the same time, he immediately headed in its direction. Shortly, Eli's camp drew into view. "Hello...?" he called out, glancing the place over. "I was not expecting to meet anyone else so far out here ~"
The makeshift shelter seemed to be occupied by a man, a dog, and... some kind of large, orange cat? Strange.
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Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2009 11:32 pm
Kell looked the stranger over than lay his head back down again, the dog had smelt the other coming but found little interest in him. That and the hound was truly tired from the day's events. Unless something important happened the droopy eared dog was unlikely to move from his current position by Eli's feet.
Eli gave a friendly smile and waved to the approaching man, he had guns, Jell and Uzi; there was little for him to fear from anyone even out here. " I was just going to say the same thing." The wastelands were not commonly traveled, the terrain and it's inhabitants were not very forgiving on the unprepared.
" What brings you out here?" Eli inquired leaning forward to take the steaming kettle off it's hook over fire with gloved hands. There was something familiar about this man, had he seen him before in town perhaps?
Uzi watched the intruder silently having gone into observation mode. That and the essentic was currently attempting to appear as unanimated as possible. When spotted by unknown human's the proto had been taught to appear as if they were merely a specialized robotic companion.
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Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 11:44 am
Kaosu, instinctively paranoid, sized up the man and his pets carefully before speaking. The orange cat seemed like some sort of... robot? How weird. This guy had some strange taste. Why would he need such an odd contraption in the middle of the wastelands?
The dog, on the other hand, was another story. Was he some kind of hound? How cute. He did not seem particularly hostile, as some canines were. Kao fought the powerful urge to call out to the charming creature. He had a thing for animals, but that thing would get in his way at the moment.
The trio did not behave particularly threatening, but Kao could not drop his guard just yet. Those that had the confidence to be friendly in such a dangerous setting probably were not easy to pick on. The red head accordingly noted that intimidation would not be a wise strategy in this particular situation. He would have to try other methods to get what he wanted.
"Me? There's a small town not too far away from here. We've been having a lot of trouble with some big predator lately... Been running off with our livestock," he lied, borrowing the story from a traveler he had conned a few days ago. "I'm looking for it." He had gotten very good at fudging the truth these days.
"And you?" he returned, trying to get a feel for the stranger. "This isn't exactly a popular camping spot."
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Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 1:18 pm
" You're looking to get killed." There was the odd wasteland settlement here and there but they usually knew how to deal with predators. Not to mention that sending a single person out for something causing significant trouble was a folly. Even if he had some form of magic they likely wouldn't have sent him to hunt alone when they could just wait for the creature to return.
Eli eyed the stranger curiously " Just what are you after?" The hunter wasn't sure he quite believed the other but was interested regardless. He'd answer the other man's question once he was satisfied with the reason for his presence. If there was indeed a predator about bothering a settlement regularly it was likely rabid and he may need to help the other bring it down.
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Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 2:00 pm
"Oh-hoh, I'm being underestimated," Kaosu purred, raising a brow. If he had any pride, he would have been offended by Eli's assertion that he could not take care of a predator on his own. Granted, he was no expert hunter, but he had lived in the wastelands for a long time. Wolves, bears, big cats... they were dangerous, yes. They were faster, smarter, and stronger than he was. However, their anatomy was not any harder to break than a human's. The could be conquered with the right aim.
"We haven't seen the animal, but judging from its kills, I'd say its probably a cougar," he stated evenly, randomly selecting a creature from his knowledge of the area. He could not read books, but he could read an environment fairly well. "But that's just speculation. We just want to confirm what we're dealing with."
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Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 3:14 pm
'' The tracks around it's kills should tell you what you're dealing with." It wasn't always easy to find good paw imprints in this wasteland but certainly by now something decent should have been spotted . Though examining carcasses left from kills helped as well. " No offense meant" Eli said calmly referring to the underestimation comment.
Although the hunter did think the man was crazy to chase a cougar without a dog. They were typically hunted with them in order to tree the big cat or at least drive it to a point where it couldn't escape. Then again you worked with what you had and. Still, something felt off about this man to Eli. " What's your name?"
The auburn haired man wasn't offering to help until he had more time to gage this stranger and his story.
Kell thumped his tail on the ground softly, watching the two men talk. While the dog had heard a few key words of interest none of them had been said by Eli and his owner had given no indication that they would be moving anytime soon.
Uzi watched the strange man with veiled interest, the essentic was thrilled at the idea of a possible hunt. Of course still playing it's role of robotic aid, the proto gave no signs of intelligence and barely moved at all. Still, Uzi hoped if there was to be a hunt they'd be invited, even if it;d have to pretend to be something far less than what it was.
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Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 5:03 pm
Kaosu eyed Eli evenly for a long moment before he responded. This man was very knowledgeable about the wilderness... or hunting big cats, at least. He was not the redhead's usual sort of target. He had a clue. He had weapons. He had back up -after all, Kell was a decent sized dog and gods knew what that peculiar feline machine was for. Kao would have to come up with a decent plan if he wanted to fool this stranger.
"None taken," he replied evenly, his gaze drifting to the drowsy canine. What to do, what to do? "The name's Kaosu," he stated cheerfully, stepping forward and politely offering his hand to shake. The other guy was probably suspicious of him. He needed to behave as friendly and non-threatening as possible.
"It's a pleasure," he continued. "Now you never did tell me why you are out here, sir..." Maybe hearing the other male's story would give him some ideas.
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Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 7:25 pm
" I'm Eli," the man reached out with a gloved hand to firmly shake Kaosu's.
" I'm hunter, I'm out here regularly." The wastelands were his second home and while he may not be as innately predatory as the creatures he hunted Eli found himself well suited to the place and the job he did there.
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Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 8:09 pm
"Eli, hm?" Kaosu repeated, sounding as though he was only half listening. His mind was working diligently, running through all of the possibilities and all of his options at record speed. Finally, upon hearing the word "hunter", something clicked. He had picked a good story to lie about, hadn't he? "Ohhh, you're a hunter? That's quite the dangerous job. Perhaps you could help me, then? Share your expertise?"
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Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 8:23 pm
" Dangerous but worth it" Eli replied with a smile. It really was a good business if you had the skills or tools to pull it off. He sipped some coffee from the cup he'd pored the kettle's contents into. " Hmm well if you are looking for a specific cougar it's the wrong time of the day to do it without dogs. They don't like to share territory but they can and you're as likely to find and kill the wrong one as not in the dark" Eli pointed out " You need to be able to have examined tracks near the kills to judge age and weight so you know what size of one you're looking for."
As far as Eli was concerned if this man didn't know that he was either outright lying or some form of magic user who was deemed best likely to be able to kill something by the settlement. The green eyes man hoped it was the latter, he'd rather not have to deal with some strange liar in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night, even if Uzi seemed to be tracking Kaosu's every move."
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Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 8:52 pm
Dangerous but worth it. Kaosu almost smiled, but caught himself. This man had some sense. Finally someone else understood that life in the wilderness could be lucrative. That civilization was not the paradigm of a worthwhile existence. "Dogs?" Kao inquired, involuntarily glancing over towards Kell. Why would canines help hunt a cougar? Perhaps because they had superior senses? The red head's demon ancestry could compensate decently for that. "Cougars are indeed territorial. There can't be that many of them in the area..." He shrugged, "I'm a fool, I don't mind risking my life. What should it hurt if I have to kill a few extra?"
There was no way he was going to get away with playing experienced hunter. Eli would smell the lie from a mile away. But he could pass for a cocky somewhat ignorant villager. Maybe he was seeking glory by protecting his town? Maybe he wanted a trophy to stroke his pride? All he needed to do was craft a character believable enough to coax the stranger into following him. Not too hard, right?
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Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 9:03 pm
Eli sighed and shook his head " I'm not going to let you go off and get yourself killed stupidly." It'd practically be assisted suicide. " How far away are we from the settlement" It had to be relatively new or a few days away and if it was several days away then the man way way out the big cat's territory.
" There are no large heat signals in the vicinity indicating a cougar" Uzi piped up, voice monotone.
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Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 9:43 pm
"Hmph. What makes you so sure I'll get killed?" Kaosu retorted, crossing his arms with feigned indignation. He had completely slipped into character. The real Kao did not care one bit that he was being underestimated -it was what he wanted. But a prideful villager would definitely be annoyed."The town? She's only a day or so away..." he continued, watching Eli carefully. The lies sure were stacking up quickly. Hopefully he could keep track of them all.
When Uzi spoke, he eyed her curiously. "What is that thing...??"
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Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 9:57 pm
" It's an advanced robotic aid, programmed to work as a hunting tool" Eli replied coolly ,lying through his teeth. Well semi lying anyways he didn't feel all that bad about it espeically since at this point Eli wasn't inclined to believe the other man. Too many small things weren't adding up and Eli was paying more attention to them now, the desire for the truth stronger than the desire for company.
" Why don't you tell me who you really are and what you really want." The man suggested.
Reacting to the tone in Eli's voice Kelly lifted his head and stared intensely at the stranger man.
Uzi's eyes glowed brighter and the essentic began examining Kaosu trying to decide the best area for attacks both fatal and non.
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