The Ka'karis, Med Fant

[NeonFire]

Ferius lightened when the Charlemagne and Xand told him it was alright, and he lightened even more at the mention of having a whole deer to himself. Little did he know, lurking in the bushes nearby were some of the hungry creatures of the mountains. Resembling wolves, except instead of paws their legs changed into those of some sort of reptile, ending in large claws. They were also known to have a very mean bite.

The meat was ready, Ferius carefully removed the spit and savoured the scent of the meat filling his nostrils (I like meat, okay? Shut up.). It was like looking at a giant shish kebab, only with no vegetables. Oh well, more protein. He dove directly into the largest chunk, not even caring to let it cool off first. The hotter it was, the better. Still oblivious to the lurking danger nearby, he continued eating.

[Daemon]

Pleased with his own attempt at broken French, Xand smiled as he ate. He kept his eyes off the roasting venison.

“It’s not your fault that sentient beings such as ourselves are at the top of the food chain,” Xand nodded, his tone nevertheless kind. “All it means is that we are free to eat nearly anything we please. There are very few which feed on us, thankfully…

It was quite ironic that, as he said that, the nearby wolf-creatures watched the three orb-bearers with hunger in their eyes, even if it was just hunger for a kill. The monsters must have been attracted by either the trail of bloody deer, or the cooking meat, or both.

Glancing to the side, always in tune with the nature around him, Xand was perturbed by the nearing presence of the Hydrawolves. As soon as he registered what it was, he dropping his food, tensing, and snapped, “Danger, ‘ware! Over there... if it’s not my imagination!”

[Yue Yin]

Charlemagne gave a quiet chuckle, though it distinctly lacked its usual lightness. "Very few which feed on us? My dear, Xand, that's because you've not seen enough of the world. Why, if you were to go to my homeland..."

Charlemagne trailed off, not bothering to finish his sentence, instead, leaving it hanging in the air.

However, possessing sharper and larger ears than either Ferius or Xand, Charlemagne was able to hear the danger nearby... the sound of Hydrawolf footsteps. And maybe it was also partly some sort of innate animal instinct kicking in. Slowly looking around - just as Xand cried out his warning - Charlemagne nodded serenely. "Indeed... You're not imagining it. Something's there."

[NeonFire]

Reluctantly, Ferius put his meat down and drew only his sword. Whatever it was, he really hoped it wasn't Hydrawolves, those things made a damn mess when they bled, they could bleed for an hour or two and still not be completely bled out. He squeezed his Ka'kari at the liquid within oozed out onto his fingers and dribbled down his arm. He willed it into a glove on the hand he wasn't holding his sword in. In the palm of his hand appeared a small, tight ball of fire. He was about to throw his ball when he realized something. He turned to Xand and Charlemagne, "What if it's no threat at all? Could be a harmless animal or another human, for all we know."

(Failpost. Damn, I'm getting worse.)

[Daemon]

“I think I’d very much rather get up and see what it is, than sit here and be attacked from behind,” Xand said mulishly, sparing a single glance for his bread which lay on the ground, dirt-encrusted. Oh well. In a life-or-death situation some things didn’t matter.

He stood up and, walking sideways, tried to see past the bushes. “Wolf! No, wait, wolves! Hydrawolves...?”

Pulling out his Ka’kari, he activated it instantly with a squeeze. His facial features flared and so did his link with the natural environment – the malevolent presence of the Hydrawolves was now loud and clear to him, blaring like a foghorn would in silence. First, he would try to manipulate the instincts of the animals... and if that didn’t work he’d have to tear them apart, limb by limb. Technically, the Ka’karis shouldn’t be built for such things, but if it was possible, Xand should be able to do it.

[Yue Yin]

Charlemagne nodded in agreement with Xand. "Yes... I think it'd be a better idea to see what it is. If it's harmless, then we're fine. But if it's not harmless, at least we won't be sitting around peeing ourselves out of worry and fear, and we won't be taken off guard."

Tensing his leg muscles - ready to leap, kick and take action at the first sign of danger - Charlemagne slid his hand into his pocket and brought forth his Ka'kari. He didn't squeeze it, though, not yet, instead, watching and waiting as Xand set to work. If Xand couldn't control the Hydrawolves - if they were Hydrawolves - then Charlemagne would act. Fingers crossed it would work.

[NeonFire]

"Fucking HATE Hydrawolves!" Ferius exclaimed, mainly too himself. He wasn't about to be attacked by Hydrawolves and not be ready for it. holding his sword and Ka'kari in one hand, he drew his dagger with the other, and slipped the orb over both blades as he had done previously, coating them with the fiery goo.

"Xand, if you can't control them, don't try a second time, the longer we wait, the more chance more will arrive." Too many bad experiences up in these very mountains left Ferius wary of these particular animals, they would either strike right away, or wait for more pack members to arrive, and sometimes their numbers bolstered by at maximum 20, and could inflate to that number very quickly.

[Daemon]

It was unusual to see how, even though Xand had sound dogma, as well as morals, and he didn’t enjoy eating meat because it meant an animal had been killed, he would happily tear these wolves apart without a second thought if it was necessary.

His hold on his Ka’kari tightened, and he brushed aside the bushes hiding the Hydrawolves as if they were dust-bunnies. The Hydrawolves snarled and backed away.

“I think they’re choosing the option of ‘stay back while more of us arrive’,” Xand said. At his command, thick, grappling roots burst forth from the earth and lashed at the nearest Hydrawolf, tearing at it with almost impossible strength. That wolf went down, but the others backed away even further.

“I haven’t heard much of Hydrawolves before,” Xand muttered, stepping back himself. “It looks like they’re going to regroup. I can feel it in their thoughts.” He whipped around, his cloak flapping. His yellow eyes narrowed in a slightly different direction. “I think there’s more coming.”

[Yue Yin]

Charlemagne listened carefully to what Ferius said about the hydrawolves - information was power after all, and Ferius seemed to know a lot about them from experience. To make a mistake now would be fatal.

Charlemagne watched as Xand set to work, slightly amused at the irony that Xand was unwilling to consume meat, and yet he had no trouble with tearing apart the wolves with sheer, brutal violence.

"Is that so? Sounds bad," Charlemagne remarked, as he squeezed his own Ka'kari, kneeling on the ground and pressing a hand to it. "Hold steady, you two."

A small tremor went flying through the earth, right from the spot where Charlemagne had touched it, speeding towards the Hydrawolves rapidly. With a jolt - literally a jolt - the earth beneath them seemed to jump up abruptly, sending the wolves flying into the hair, howling, before they fell to the earth again with loud thuds, some merely being bruised, some breaking bones with loud cracks.

[NeonFire]

Without a second thought, Ferius was sprinting for the remaining Hydrawolves, but seemed off course. He was actually heading for a rock. with two more large steps, he was at the top, pushing himself off with all his might. With a mighty swing at nothing, the fiery goo slipped off his sword and splattered onto the live wolves on the ground, smoke poured from underneath and the creatures howled their last howls as the goo ran along the ground trying to get back to Ferius. He hoped he had launched himself far enough, he was aiming to land on a ridge not too far off, and realized there was one more wolf. Using the momentum from his previous swing, he turned himself again, and upon landing, thrust his dagger into the final wolf's neck.

The Ka'kari goo he had expelled from his sword made its way back to him, and the orb was whole again. Panting, Ferius turned to Xand and Charlemagne, "Can I eat now?"

(Failpost Dx)

[Daemon]

By himself, Xand would have been unable to deal with the Hydrawolves; but it seemed, if he and his fellow orb-bearers worked together as a team, they did excellently. He’d dealt with the first one; Charlemagne had killed a few more; and Ferius had finished off the rest.

So, as morning preludes went, they had hardly experienced a scratch or a bruise. Very good. Xand wouldn’t have liked to have come out of it worse for wear... even so, he merely disliked the fact that their good breakfast mood had been interrupted.

“Of course you may,” Xand said to Ferius, bowing slightly. Out of habit, his hand went to his head to sweep his hat off in a salute, but of course, his hat was now a rabbit, and his hand grasped onto his messy amber hair, feeling awkwardly for a few moments. “I hope we can finish up our meal without being interrupted again... that was a bit nasty. Do you supposed Hydrawolves are just a common beast in these mountains?”

[Yue Yin]

Charlemagne watched Ferius leap, blobs of fire Ka'Kari goo flying everywhere as he moved with a crackling of members and streaking fire. A magnificent sight indeed. And with an impressed eye, Charlemagne watched as Ferius took out the rest of the Hydrawolves, giving a few quiet claps. "Most impressive, Ferius." A laugh. "And yes, you may."

Seeing that Xand seemed to have forgotten his hat was now a rabbit, Charlemagne did the action in his place, sweeping in his own bright red, beribboned off his head with a jingle of bells, though his bow was considerably more extravagant and exaggerated than Xand's. "Well, they've all been killed so far as I can tell. It's probably unlikely more Hydrawolves will come - they'll be able to smell the deaths and the danger a mile off. But I'm no expert. What do you think, Ferius?"