*Jillian manages to keep her smile.*
Jillian: Well met Xan, and yes I have come here for shelter as well. Why are you afraid of being noticed?

---
*The creatures step out from trees all around the group, each giggling.*
*They all appear to have a cloak of black feathers that hides their pale fleshed bodies. They have a feathered hood which cover their mostly featureless faces except for their large mouths filled with needle like teeth. They also have four arms, each ending with six blue tipped claws that drip a toxic blue tar.*
*They watch, and giggle.*

*Xan hisses and her eyes shift from brown to green, becoming catlike*
Xan: Bad Werelord. Old Master. Not honor Naalhok Va. Try to keep me longer. Not good master either. Hurt me when I try to leave.
*She shows Jillian her leg*
Xan: Broken. Need safe to let heal. After that, might leave, might stay. Not sure.

*Halia whimpers and tries to huddle behind someone or something*
Halia: What are they!?
*Mergoux growls*
Mergoux: Monsters by my guess.
*She tries to stand, then groans and collapses, clutching her stomach in pain*
Mergoux: Agh! Hurts! S-something... not right!

*Lecter goes to respond go Halia's earlier comment, but stops as the creatures reveal themselves*
*The Devil Hunter smells the air, trying to deduce if they're Devils or not*
Lecter: Karma, protect them.
*His Devil Trigger activates, and he draws his pistol*
Lecter: Leave now, and you won't be harmed. Only warning.

*Karma hisses and smoke starts to form around her, hanging by her feet like fog*

*Jillian keeps smiling, though she is a little on edge from Xan.*
Jillian: Oh well that is good stay for as long as you like! And.. um.. glad you don't have a master anymore.
*She starts doing her dishes, and her smile fades for a instant.*
Jillian: Who is your master?

---
*The creatures giggles get louder as a response to Lecter's threat.*
*They suddenly charge as one spreading their arms wide, and darting around to avoid any range fire. (Almost as if they are used to such things.)*

*Xan nods simply*
Xan: Thank... you... Yes. It is good to be free again. I am happier now.
*She looks almost fearful*
Xan: He is... The Twisted Shaman. Tiaz, the Tigerlord.
*She sighs*
Xan: Bad. Much evil in heart. Stay away from at all costs. He beat you, then take you for his own. He slaver. Bad business. Not right.
*She nods, eyes back to dark brown. She tucks her dark hair behind one ear then limps over to the counter, still using a chair as a makeshift walker.*
Xan: I... help? Clean yes? I do before. Ma- Tiaz, have many plates. Son always eating so we clean lots.
*She helps Jillian clean up, then goes and sits on the sofa, going to sleep shortly afterwards*

___________________________________________

*Halia screams in fright as she's both defenseless and unable to flee, then allows herself to be transported wherever*
*Mergoux is groaning in pain as a few broken ribs grate around inside her. She's curled up into a small ball and really can't do much to fight back, but before she blacks out, she turns her bag over, whispers a word and a dozen or so white metal spheres drop out*
Mergoux: Blinders...
*She passes out from pain and injury, leaving what are essentially flashbangs on the ground*

*Lecter fires at the creatures, and unless they're moving at superhuman speeds, they would be accurate*
Lecter: Always did prefer blades.
*The Devil Hunter is a blur of his own as he moves forwards, trying to take the creatures on before they can reach Merg and Halia*

*Karma stays back, keeping any eye out for any that try to bypass Lecter*

*Jillian sighs with relief glad it wasn't him, that Xan served under.*
*After doing the dishes and nodding to xan, Jillian walks outside to smoke a cigarette.*

---
*Three of the creatures charge towards Lecter, while the rest simply watch.*
*The giggles keep coming as they slash at Lecter with blur like speed.*
*If any of their claws connect flesh, blisters will pop up around the effected area, and they will catch a form of highly infectous virus similar to gangrene.*

*Lecter does his best to block the blows that he can't avoid, and occasionally uses his pistol as well*
*If Lecter gets hit, his body reacts immediately to the virus and tries to kill it off rapidly*
Lecter: Damned gigglers.

*Hanna looks at Iris and shakes her head*

Hanna: I-I was careless... I c-could have really h-hurt you... The thought d-didn't even cross my mind...

*She hugs Iris*

----

*The insect leaves his room and heads towards the main room*

*He know he can't avoid human contact forever so he's just going to get it over with*

*Furia heads out after finishing her steak on a knife and before throwing it into a board and grabs her furs*

Wait Xan.

*returns a hour or so later with a thick branch with a bow cut off to make a very crude walking stick that's been roughly cut off and cleaned with a knife*

Da, might as well be usful. Earn keep.
Stick better than backed stool.

...
*Maleanwhile the Horse clan ride hard after there captain delayed by storms in the plains. *

*a dozen or so horsemen ride quickly and begin to reach the forests edges and start to slow down there pace as they follow the established trais*

*Iris hugs Hanna tightly*
Iris: Hey... it's okay... just don't do something like that again, I couldn't bear to lose you
*She smiles weakly*
Iris: Strange huh? We've only known each other a few weeks but...
*She sighs*
Iris: You're a good person Hanna, just because you have some faults put into you by those... people, doesn't mean you have to go and do something like that
*Horus opens the door and pokes his head in*
Horus: Oh, there you are! I've been looking all ov- What's happened?
*He can tell something's happened from the looks on Iris's and Hanna's faces*

*Xan nods her thanks*
Xan: Better. Why you help?

*Furia looks over and thinks *

Clan was always support members, this place never charged for anything.

Do something to prove use to place, do something to feel useful, and not sit about all day... among other things.

*looks round*
I understand little of this place... Its cultures are strange. Least yours I can understand.

*Jillian sits outside smoking her cigarette.*
*She watches the menacing looking storm clouds bleed across the skies.*

---
*The gigglers keep pressing the attack.*
*One of the gigglers go down from a head shot, and another goes down from a slash from Lecter.*
*They keep giggling as they go down.*

*Above the group the storm cloud keeps growing, and flashes of red lightning light up the sky.*

*Hanna looks at Iris then at Horus*

Hanna: I-I did something I s-shouldn't have...

*She looks away from Horus ashamed with what she did*

----

*The insect walks into the kitchen and nods to anyone in the kitchen*

*He uses all four arms while preparing his food*

*He looks at the strange storm*

*Xan nods to Furia*
Xan: Then thank you. Good to have. Leg healing quick, but not quick enough.
*She limps out to a window, watching the storm with a frown on her face*
Xan: Jok... (Bad...)

*Halia is terrified by the little beasts and tries to get away or hide*

*Horus looks between Iris and Hanna, then notices the slashed rope of bedsheet still hanging from wherever and knows what happened. He kneels down and looks at Hanna, because he wants her to say it*
Horus: Hanna, what did you do?
*He asks not in a harsh manner, but in a firm one.*

*Lecter turns to face the third of the attacking critters and slashes at it's throat*
Lecter: Come on, then.

*Karma's smoke prevents Halia from moving much, as it acts like a cocoon*
You are safer here, mortal.

*Furia looks over and nods*

Leg heal soon. You heal quickly.
Keep weight off, hunters need to know basic aid. No help in wilds, help only clan.

*turns to storm and curses in her native tongue*
Storm look bad.

Looks unnatural.
*looks worried at the storm so very obviously unnatural and red lightening afar in the sky*

*Nonac wanders put yawning and grabs a large ale and tossing Furia one who catches it*

Want one Xan?

...

*In the Forrest the horse men push on hard as see storm coming and the cavalry leader sees signs of the captains route and looks down at his sabre*

Stay close, storms a brewing.
We need to find the captain.

He should be back now.

*Hanna rubs her shoulder*

Hanna: I-I... I hung myself... I was s-stupid...

----

*The insect eats the meal he prepared*

Insect: (Lets just hope whatever is making that storm stays over there...)

*The giggling creature spreads it's arms, and backs up slightly. The other creatures get ready to charge towards Lecter but halt as the storm passes overhead. Suddenly a new creature seems to appear from a flash of lightning, a few yards away from the Lecter and the giggling creature.*
*It appears to have no upper half, only having a stock body with strange red plates covering it in protective armor, it has two three digit hands covered in red slime. Their heads are cone shaped, that bisect down the middle which displays a array of strange blue fangs. Also doesn't appear to have no eyes.*
*It raises it's hands, and makes a height pitched screech which cause the giggling creatures to scream as well.*

*The one giggling creature Lecter was fighting appears to glow purple, and horrid mutations erupt across it's body. Soon it stands at ten feet, and has a deep rumbling giggle. It then attacks Lecter, while the floating creature watches.*

*Horus sighs and nods*
Horus: I guessed as much. What happened?
*Iris is visibly upset and doesn't speak*

*Halia screams in terror and throws one of the blinders Mergoux left out. It explodes in a blinding flash of light*