@KatherinWinter@jog1118

The arid Ciudad Mitad del Mundo heat pummeled through the bus window which had been conveniently left agape for in dire situations much like today. It was hot. Too hot in fact, and not even the most advanced of handheld fans, nor open window could sooth someone's searing skin. Fortunately for Narcissa, she was fairly content with the sweltering weather, after all, she hadn't come prepared for nothing. She had packed everything she could ever need, or at least, she hoped she did. Performing one final check of her luggage, Narcissa couldn't help but feel like she had disregarded something of great importance. What that 'important' thing was exactly was currently unknown. As the bus slowly ground down to a halt, there was no time for recollection before she was practically hauled off the parked vehicle by the driver, who by the looks of it was in quite the hurry. Ah, I'm sure it's nothing... Narcissa sighed solemnly before returning to her usual, lively self.
Continuing on her journey, she'd come to spot two male figures in the field next to her, their gaze secured so solely on the ground beneath them that she doubted they'd even seen her. "Hello?" She called out inquisitively, hoping to at least catch one of their attention.

(I got lazy near the end, so please excuse my sloppy writing skills >_<)

@Feral
Griffin looked up at the sound of a woman's voice. He frowned. He hadn't seen her at the meeting. Of course it had been crowded and he had stayed towards the back of the group so that didn't really mean anything. He waved. "You can join us if you want to. We are looking for ants." That was a long speech for him. Especially when it came to talking to a female. He had never been very comfortable with the opposite sex.

"OUCH!!!" yelled Martin, as he scrambles back to his feet and frantically shakes of his beloved ants from his clothes.

"Jeez! These bullet ants live up to their name! I've got ant stings even in places the sun don't shine." Martin forces a smile even though he is sore from the ant bites.

He approaches Griffin and the new gal. "I've got what i wanted Griffin. I'll take care of the taming later." He raises the plastic bottle and shows the bullet ant inside together with some pieces of cracker, apparently meant to be the ant's supply of food.

He faces Narcissa and forced another smile. "Hi i'm Martin and this is Griffin. You here for the god-stuff too?"

@Feral @KatherinWinter

Once Elysia came to the conclusion that the two suggested leaders would partake in a challenge to see if they were truly fit to lead their little team. It seemed like an odd challenge, but Melaina didn't think twice about it. She gave a determined nod, before you opening her mouth to speak. "Do you want a specific color or shap-" she was cut off by the realization that her competition had already left. For a moment she stood there in silence, before bolting out the door and sprinting down the hall to the stairwell. She jumped onto the banister, her butt landing on the metal, before she began to use her feet to help her slide down her makeshift slide.

When the spastic pink-haired girl got to the bottom of the stairwell, she jumped off the banister and swung open the door. The first thing she saw was Orion, standing at the front desk, apparently waiting for something. Good. She wasn't to late. Without any thought, she did the first thing that came to her mind: Melaina ran up to him and jumped onto his back, encasing his neck in her arms, pushing his head into her chest, and wrapping her legs around his waist. "I SHALL BE THE LEADER!!!!!!" She shouted, clinging to him as hard as she could throwing her body weight around in an attempt to make him fall.

@Rusalka@Zerofighter

@Framing A Moose
Orion hummed silently waiting for the wine class, then he smiles as the woman walked over with the glass. He knew Melanie was gonna be mad, but she will get over it. "Tha-" He cursed as he felt arms wrapped around his neck, and legs around his body. He cursed trying to shake her off. "Little gremlin." he cursed tryignt to shake her off. Orion fell back on the table breaking it. Orion finally getting her off growling. The woman dropped the glass in surprise. He took our his wallet slamming random bills on the desk, and leaving the room. He punched the wall in anger, a small crack forming from where he punched

Melaina was doing a fairly good job holding onto Orion for the most part, keeping herself up and not letting herself let go of the boy's body. But what happened next could not be stopped by the poor pink-haired bimbo. Orion's body gave out and he fall back, throwing Melaina onto a table which was destroyed under both their weight. Orion walked away without a scratch, most likely because Melaina had cushioned his fall. Melaina, on the other hand, had taken the worst of it.

Upon shattering the wooden table and landing on the ground, Melaina's head snapped back and hit the floor hard, causing her to lose consciousness. Along her back was a giant scratch, not going to deep, but it did go from her left shoulder blade to the right side of her waist, not to mention the giant tear it put in the back of her shirt. Other than that, she had been hit all along her back, hits which would most likely result in bruises later on.

After about a minute, Melaina's eyes fluttered open. A pained look took up residence on her face. She laid there for a few moments before proceeding to slowly get up, pained groans escaping her lips. On the back of her head was a patch of red sticking out among the pink. She then walked over to the front desk. "Hey, I need one of those please." she said, pointing down at the shattered wine glass. The scared maid behind the counter nodded and dodged into the back room coming back out with the glass. She grabbed it, nodded with a friendly smile, then started walking back to her room.

@Zerofighter@Rusalka

@jog1118

"I am glad that you were able to find and capture your ant so quickly. It is getting dark. Maybe we should head back to the hotel. I would like to get some sleep before we start looking for my hawk. I don't think it would be wise to go hunting hawks in unfamiliar territory." Griffin told Martin. He didn't know how late the bus run. He didn't want to take risk missing it.

@KatherinWinter

A bus on a return trip passes by soon and elicits a sigh of relief from the two men.

The two get up on the bus and thankfully rest themselves from the heat of the afternoon sun.

Martin is unusually quiet. He looks at Griffin for a moment and says I don't feel so good..." and suddenly topples towards Griffin.

Martin is burning up with fever.

@jog1118
Griffin wasn't looking forward to the trip back to town but the bus was the only way back to town. He looked out window as the bus headed down the road. He paid little attention to anything. He didn't want to think about the enclosed crowded space. He didn't hear Martin say his name until the other man collapsed. Unfortunately there wasn't anything he could do until they got back to town.

Orion was in the forest trying to let off some steam. *Stupid little gremlin! I wanted to punch her in the face! He took in a deep breath and sighed. "I just need to calm down...the girl is just scatterbrained.." Orion told himself. He then looked up hearing rustling. Orion stood cautiously and saw a wolf. It ddnt look angry or loike it wanted to bite him. It walked over sniffing him then let out a bark. A smile came to his face as he pet the wolf. The wolf stopped and started growling. Orion turned seeing a black bear walk over growling.

@Framing A Moose
@Rusalka

@jog1118

Griffin wasn't sure what to do for Martin. The man was unconscious. He didn't know if it was serious or not. He didn't know if there was a healer or a doctor near by. While the man had been he had been nice he wasn't his responsibility. He wasn't sure if he wanted to bother going to the effort of finding help for the other man. When the bus stopped he pulled Martin off the bus. He decided to take the other man to the hotel room and hope that he didn't die. He carried the other man towards the hotel.

The heavy clip-clop of hooves carried what appeared to be an overweight grey Kankrej Zebu cow through the streets of Middle of the World City. Children were running about the massive animal, poking it with sticks as the cow’s tail lashed at the flies that danced about its smelly rear-end. Nandi—named after the sacred cow who bore the same name—was the bull of Eshan’s mother and she had fed him more than she fed her own family apparently. Eshan needed a mount if he was going to replace Lord Shiva one day, and so she allowed him to take Byron Nandi out to Ecuador for the whole family felt that it was about time the cow lost some weight.

The young man was seated on the cow’s back that had sacks of packed clothing, food, herbs, and tea covering it and his flanks. The bull’s motivation to go on despite its tired and heaving pants was the lone big juicy carrot that dangled at the end of a stick before its face. It was about halfway to the city center that Nandi’s balance began to waiver. Eshan raised his head, his brows lifting in a start when he sensed the bull’s swaying. Uncrossing his legs, he patted the creature’s back.

“You have done enough, my friend. You can rest,” he told the beast.

Brown eyes rolling in the back of his head in relief, the cow huffed dramatically and keeled over. Eshan was quick to spring off the cow’s back as it just about shook the entire city (exaggeration) with the collapse of its great girth. Eshan sighed, giving the bull the carrot he had so desperately craved. The bull snagged it between his teeth and chewed lazily as its nostrils flared with its overworked breaths (they had actually travelled maybe 100 meters since the last time the animal needed a break).

“If you are to be a sacred steed, then you will have to take better care of yourself. I may need to rely on you one day.”

A squelch and blare of hot flatulence then ripped from the bull, causing Eshan to blush in humiliation as children exclaimed Eeeww! and went off rambling in Spanish and laughter. Why was this happening to him? Why couldn’t his Mata have given him one of the stronger bulls? The serpent, Vasuki, peeked out from beneath the black silky layers of his hair, his forked-tongue flicking and catching Eshan’s attention as he ran his finger over the creature’s head.

“You’re lucky we weren’t called to the North. I fear you would freeze, my friend.”

The serpent was indifferent as it tucked its head back beneath his mane.

Eshan’s attention returned to Nandi and there wasn’t much he could do. The big bull wasn’t going to move until he finished catching his breath and he had to make sure no one tried to eat him. A cow that big must have made some stomachs growl, and Eshan wasn’t about to allow the kidnapping of his fat friend. The Indian man took a seat next to the bull, sitting on the curb as though one would if they had a flat tire or a car problem that wasn’t easily fixed.

Griffin stretched as he woke up. It was early but he had always rose with the sun. It wasn't a habit that was proud of. But it wasn't one that he was ashamed of either. It was simply a fact. He got up and went into the bathroom to shower and shave. He wondered what today would bring. Hopefully Martin would help him find and capture a hawk, even though he hadn't been that much help in the other man's finding or capturing of his ant.