Vayond: The Shadowed Hunters

The morning broke bright and early for the Hunters. Jaegar shifted uncomfortably, he never really felt right in the light of day. On top of that, they usually had to change into 'common' clothing... uncomfortable, rough, stuff that itched horribly.

He shrugged, whatever they had to do, he could do it, he just didn't always have to like it. The door was suddenly opened, and a large man entered, presumably the master blacksmith. He took one look at them, and it was the last thing he ever saw as Dalin slit his throat.

Jaegar and the others stepped over the body of the man on their way out the door. Dalin led them toward the horses, but stopped when a bird called. Jaegar recognized it as an animal that often came to Dalin and carried a message.

He waited as Dalin called it and read the message paper strapped to its leg. He glanced about, taking in the greenery and lush forest all around them. The road wound past the hut, and disappeared. He sniffed a bit, smelling the freshness of the new day. It's not that he didn't like green grass and daylight, it just wasn't friendly to their work.

He turned back to Dalin as he turned and barked, "The Hunt is off. It's time to return"

The others looked at eachother for a moment, and Jaegar spoke, "What? Now? We could have them today? Why must we stop?"

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Jarien heard the more dainty of the girls ask what it was that he had killed and he raised his eyebrows. The kid answered that it was breakfast. He turned around from the buck and looked at the girl, "Um... this is a deer... a Buck... and it is breakfast"

He turned back and lifted the animal from it's place on the ground. "I suppose i should take it out of the cleft... the smell of blood might make predators come."

He drug it out of the rocks and found a tree with a low branch nearby. He hung the deer by it's antlers from the branch, and began cleaning it. Adi helped, she had done this many a time before and long ago it stopped making her queasy.

It took a few minutes, and then the deer was ready to be cut and cooked. Adi looked around, "Micah should be back with the wood by now..."

Vayond: The Shadowed Hunters

Hinvi let out a hardy laugh, “You look hungry.” Hinvi finished preparing the fish, then set it over the fire. After a short few minutes, the fish was cooked through and ready to be eaten. Hinvi dished the fish out, and handed it to Aeryn. “Enjoy.”

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Falcon woke up to the smell of fire. He looked out his window to see that the inn he was in before had been burnt down, and the people inside dead. Good thing I changed my staying place do to others being loud. Falcon thought, if there is one thing I hate other then holding a long conversation with someone, it’s being awaken by a fire at night.
Falcon shook his head, packed up a few of his things, and decided to make the long travel through the forest back home to his house in the mountains.

Vayond

Edmund observed the young boy darting for his tiger, then chuckled, "Very intersting. As soon as they got to the others, He saw Jarien cleaning off the deer. Setting the firewood to teh ground, he lit a match. "Ready when you are."

Vayond: The Shadowed Hunters

"Starving, actually." Aeryn said, playing with the ferret in her arms.

When the fish was done, Aeryn pulled her veil off, revealing her entire face. She took the plate from Hinvi, who was observing her. "It gets annoying..." she shrugged.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Shyanne was grateful when the deer was removed from her presence. She leaned her head back on the rock and said, "This is a nightmare..."

Vayond

Sirius came into a clearing by a stream, a stream he had known his whole life. After making sure no one was around, he whistled a long, shrill note. Soon, a huge tiger emerged out of the brush. But this time, Sirius noticed something different. Jaegar seemed restless, like there was some great danger that only he could sense. "What's wrong, boy?" Sirius asked quietly. Jaegar growled. Sirius was shocked. This had never happened before. He knew that even though Jaegar was quite tame, he was still a wild animal. "It's okay, Jaegar, it's just me," he whispered. "It'll be okay." The tiger gradually slowed it's breathing and then turned and looked at his master. "Come on," Sirius said, "I have something to show you."

When they came to the clearing where he had met Micah, there was no one around. Puzzled, Sirius picked up a stick Edmund had dropped, put it under Jaegar's nose, and said, "Follow this scent." Jaegar immediately set off into the woods, and Sirius had to run to keep up.

Vayond: The Shadowed Hunters

“So, now where are we going?” Hinvi asked, putting his hands on his knees. “That is if you are ready to go.”

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Falcon walked through the forest, his gaze was on the trees above him. He found something so peaceful about being alone in the wilderness. He was free from the condemning gaze of the public, and free of their noisy behaviors, such as holding a conversation with someone. Ha! The very idea of someone actually enjoying holding a conversation, for which people ask questions that should never be answered, is beyond me. Falcon thought, Detestable. Why can’t they leave others business be, and leave them alone.

Vayond: The Shadowed Hunters

"To town, of course." Aeryn said, setting her small plate aside. She put her veil on and adjusted it until it fit perfectly. "I have some business there and you want to get to the tavern."

Vayond: The Shadowed Hunters

Micah returned to the camp with Edmund. Seeing the others, still camping in the natural cleft, hair and clothes evidencing the fact that they'd been subject to Nature's fury the past night, reminded him of the nearly hopeless predicament they were all in. The pungent smell of the buck's discarded innards permeated the area, causing Micah to cough a bit before he was able to adjust to it. Jarien and Adi had done a good job cleaning the animal.

Micah set the wood he had gathered on the ground, adding it to Edmund's pile. "We met a boy while we were out there," He said, speaking generally to the others. "By the name of Sirius Telanor. He works as a Tanner's apprentice in town; we may be able to get some needed supplies there."

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Rokard was surprised by Dalin's sudden announcement that the hunt was off. They had been set back the night before, it was true; but if they quit now, they would have to work very hard to regain an advantage over the prey. "Jaegar's right. These orders are extremely hindering." He knew, of course, that this wasn't a matter open for debate. Dalin had recieved orders, and they would all obey; but that didn't mean he couldn't express his disgust even as he did so.

Vayond: The Shadowed Hunters

As Micah finished telling the others of their meeting Sirius in the woods, a tiger came bounding into the cave, followed a few seconds later by Sirius himself, yelling for his tiger to slow down. "Stop, Jaegar! Stop!" he yelled, "Slow down, SLOW DO-Oh, sorry." he said as he realized where he was. He quickly got control of Jaegar and stood back by the entrance sheepishly, staring with wonderment at all the dirty faces looking back at him. "I-I-I'm Sirius Telanor," he mumbled, casting Micah a pleading look. "I didn't mean to barge in. I was trying to find Micah." And after seeing a few confused and suspicious faces, he added quickly, "I met him in the woods."

Vayond: The Shadowed Hunters

Shyanne's eyes widened like saucers when she saw the tiger. Her face went pale as she let out a shriek and covered her face.

Vayond
Edmund quickly put his arms around Shyanne. "It's okay. Don't worry, he's safe, I think. He belongs to Sirus."
He could feel her shaking form, so he rubbed her back, assuring her soothingly that it was okay.

Vayond: The Shadowed Hunters

Susanne gasped when the tiger came bounding in. She saw a flash of it's large white teeth, then a boy ran up and restrained the large animal. It didn't stop her from trembling at the sight of the beast. She scooted back into the shadows of the cleft hoping it's large green eyes wouldn't see her. Though this maybe the boys pet, at anytime it could lash out. It was...wild. That's when the boy introduced himself, sheepishly, as Sirius Telanor. The boy Micah said he met... she instantly thought, then wondered why Micah hadn't warned them of the large tiger. She locked eyes with the blacksmith who had returned some moments ago with firewood. Then she looked down and tried to ignore the smell of cooking dear meat. It was a terrible scent that made her stomach twist..... but she pressed fingers to her lips and hoped it would taste better when it was done.

Looking back at the boy, and his tiger, she managed to speak using her cracked voice "Hello Sirius" she hesitated on his name, but got it out

*******

Dalin looked at them "It's the orders" he snapped. "I don't make them" There was no room for his men to question......when the king ordered them back. They came back. No delay. He shucked his outer cloak to reveal under neath a complete suit of black leather. The heat prevented them from wearing their normal apparel, and black in the day was easily seen. Pulling commoners clothing from the saddle bags of his horse. He disappeared in the forest for a minute before returning dressed in simple clothing. "Let's go!" he mounted up.

Vayond: The Shadowed Hunters

Hinvi stood from his seat on the rock, and hefted his gear onto his back. “Alright then, if we leave now, we should get their by lunch time.” Hinvi said, then he picked up the pot of water he had, and doused the fire with it. “Today seems like it’s gonna turn to be a fine day.”

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Falcon sneezed, then he rubbed his nose with a handkerchief. See, if it were that I was in the unfortunate case of being in a public place, that sneeze would have pushed me into being the center of attention. Everyone would be looking at me expecting me to fall over, just because I sneezed. Falcon thought, “Ha!” He said aloud, to think that one’s heart stops just because they sneeze is utterly ridiculous. Falcon continued in his thoughts, the main subject being the faults of society.

Vayond: The Shadowed Hunters

Aeryn placed her bow and quiver onto her back and picked up Chyrr. "Seems like it." She smiled.

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Shyanne calmed slightly, but she still watched the tiger's every move.

Vayond: The Shadowed Hunters

Micah was startled as the tiger bounded unannounced into their company. He stepped back a few feet in shock, but then Sirius came in and took control of the animal. Of course, Micah though, he said he had a tiger. Micah cleared his throat, smiling awkwardly. "Well, um, this is the lad I told you about. And this is his tiger... though I didn't meet him earlier."

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Rokard deferred to Dalin's harsh reply, and didn't say anything more about the bothersome orders. "Yes sir," He replied stoically, and mounted his steed, kicking it into a gallop as he followed after Dalin.