[IC] Hidden Claws [1x1 Salenea and Sporko]

[SporkoBug]

Ash looked to Faber, although a bit to the left instead of looking at him straight. "Yes, Hunter has given me the offer." Ash agreed before they smiled a bit more. "And if you are willing to go through with it, I am more than happy to hand the keys over."

Hunter kept watch of Vivianne as she walked around, He knew this Garden was safe, but it was also magical, and he didn't want Vivianne finding anything to freak out about.

---

The beast stepped towards Marigold with it's head low, ears back and fangs bared. The little bird whistled angrily before it flew in front of Marigold, spinning around her before darting into the water.
"Step away from my Guardian!" A loud voice echoed around the air, scaring the rest of the birds in the area before the water suddenly seemed to sprung forward and a large Ki-rin stood in front of the young woman, facing away from her and towards the Snow Leopard.

The Beast stopped at the sight of the Fae Beast, he let out a low rumble as he lowered himself slightly, but didn't back down.

---

April stepped through the doorway with a small smile as she moved her hand to slowly run her hand across the mans chin with a smile.
"He doesn't mind. He's just protective~" April said in a sing-song voice, Jared nodded gently in response.
"I don't mind." He added in with a small smile, "My apologies for being standoffish."

The sounds of footsteps echoed from around them, a sudden smaller, white haired female poked her head from behind Jared's back.
"Aunt April!" She called out happily before she looked to Hazel. "Hi! I'm Ali!!"

[Salenea]

Faber smiled, "Yes I would very much like to go through with it. I think it is perfect. I send Marigold for some herb picking and it usually doesn't take her too long so I don't want risk her catching me and ruining the surprise." Faber put down a little silver chest he pulled from a bag. "I have the agreed-upon price in here, the chest is an appreciation gift," he said. "Moving can be quite tedious so take as long as you need if you need to. I don't want to rush you."
Vivianne sauntered a bit before returning. "How lovely, I like how the garden stretches all the way to the forest," she exclaimed.

---

Marigold was astonished and couldn't say a word as her eyes locked on to the Ki-rin, something she had only seen pictures off.
Strengthened by the presence she densed more light around her but also around her stick, making it a better weapon. She held it like a bo-staff and bent her knees slightly to have a better balance. Her hands gripped the branch firmly as she waited for the beast to make a move. She didn't feel confident enough to charge but she would defend herself.
Her raven, Two-Feathers, flew back to Faber's house but when he didn't see anyone there he started to circle Silver Haven, in the hopes to find Hunter to warn him a beast was threatening Marigold.

---

"No apologies needed," Hazel assured him. She would probably have greeted a stranger the same way, if not worse.
Inwardly sighing Hazel looked at Ali, "Hello Ali, I'm Hazel. I'm accompanying April today." she said politely. "I hope you don't mind, we're here to see your mother."
She glanced at April, hoping she could take the attention back to her or something.

[SporkoBug]

Ash gave a gentle smile as he turned to motion towards the doorway again.
"Feel free to leave it on the table inside. Moving shouldn't be hard, as everything left in the house is included in the sale." He said with a gentle bow of his head, Hunter looked to Ash before he moved to take the chest gently from Faber.

Hunter felt like something was wrong, but he couldn't put his paw on it. He hid his worry for now, nodding to Vivianne and Faber.
"Will you tell her about this today?" He asked Faber with a tilt of his head.

---

The Ki-rin and the leopard seemed to be almost in a standstill, the Predator watching the Mythics movements carefully- both of them calculating the others next step. The Ki-rins' tail moved slowly side to side, water droplets shimmering everywhere before visions of Marigold appeared on either side of Marigold, making the illusion of multiple girls behind her.
"Be ready to run little one." A gentle voice echoed in Marigolds head.

---

Ali's eyes widened when Hazel spoke to her about her mother, she moved and grabbed Hazel's wrist as well as Aprils and pulled the women along quickly. The hallway darkened as she lead them along, the lights seeming to shimmer duller than the next.
Ali stopped at the end of the hallway, a dark oak door in front of her before she stepped sideways.
"Mamma's in there."

April moved to gently rub Ali's head, "Thank you sweetheart." She said as she looked to Hazel with a smile.

[Salenea]

Two-Feathers noticed his human's mother in the back yard of a cottage that wasn't their home. It wouldn't hurt to take a look.

Faber nodded to Hunter. "I was planning to invite her for a walk in about three hours after noon and casually pass this cottage, ask her what she thinks about it and enter the cottage. I'll tell her it's hers and spend the next hour trying to convince her to accept it. You know, we started a fund for each of them when they were born, setting aside an amount of money every fortnight. Instead of just giving fund as dowry or wedding present we chose to give it as an asset that can't be stolen."

Two-Feather pecked against the window when he saw Hunter inside. "Danger, Marigold, Beast." he cawed to Hunter.

Faber turned towards the sound. "Isn't that Margold's raven? I guess he's right at home here already. Must be a good omen."
He turned to Vivianne, "come on dear, let's head home."
He went to shake Ash's hand before he left "Thank you again, I can't thank you enough for selling this wonderful cottage."

---

Marigold gasped slightly and looked at the illusions from the corner of her eyes. She wasn't sure if the illusions ould follow her every move so she tried to not move too much but it was strange to see herself standing beside her.
When she heard the voice breezing through her mind she thought a simple yes in return, not sure if it could be heard.
She was ready to run. She bent her knees very slightly and tensed her muscles a bit so she could sprint away when the Ki-rin would give the mark. She would have to drop the branch but she gathered some more light, hoping it ould help her run faster as well.

---

Hazel hesitated for a moment but allowed Ali to drag her alone and resist her reaction to pull free. She let her eyes adjust the darker hallway and let it rest on the oaken door, wondering what she ould find behind it.
Hazel returned April's smile briefly. "Anything I should know or be careful about before we go in?" she asked, not that she really thought there would be much danger but she was rather safe than sorry, her cautious nature wouldn't let her go in somewhere without double-checking potential dangers first.

[SporkoBug]

Hunter smiled towards Faber as he spoke, "If you need me around, I am more than happy to help where needed." He grinned before he looked to Two-Feathers as he spoke, his eyes narrowing before he smiled slightly. "If you'd excuse me, I have family business to attend to." He turned and bowed his head to Ash, "I assure you can finish everything off? Or should I get Oliver?"
"Oliver would be helpful." Ash said with a nod, "Thank you for Everything Hunter, you're a good kid."

Hunter bowed his head as he quickly left the house and headed towards the forest. He waited until he was out of sight of anyone from the town before he pulled off his shirt before he twisted into his wolf form and sprinted towards the forest.

The Ki-rin moved the illusions in all different directions as the beast stepped forward. The Beast watched the Ki-Rin quietly as he snarled loudly, showing his large fangs.
"The Human." He rumbled, "Give her to me." He stepped forward, The Ki-Rin stepped forward as well before it flicked it's tail.
"Run." The Ki-Rin said towards Marigold as they bounced towards the Beast.

---

April looked towards Hazel as she asked about something, grinning softly as she thought to herself about the response.
"Well, I hope you're not afraid of birds." She said with a bit of a laugh. "Stay out here Ali." April said towards the girl before she moved to pull open the door to the bedroom.

The light inside slowly crept out into the hallway; the bedroom was beautifully decorated with gorgeous furniture. A four post Bed sat in the middle of the room. The Bed itself was still standing, but the blankets were moved and fixed into place like a large, fluffy nest.
A quiet chattering could be heard from the bed as a figure poked her head out of the nest. Her head was a brilliant shade of blue, with deep pink eyes.

[Salenea]

Marigold dashed off to the left, a quick glance over her shoulder made her stumble and almost fell but she half-jumped to keep from falling. She didn't try to look again and only focussed on the path ahead to try and avoid any obstacles. She didn't pay attention to twigs and bushes scratching her and catching her clothes. She just wanted as much room between her and the beast. At first she hadn't payed attention to which direction she was running but she slowed down a bit to try and make out where exaclty she was in the forest. She needed to get home or to the Hunter's family home. Marigold was torn between slowing down to get her bearings and running on to get as far away as possible.
Her breathing got heavier with every step and her side began to ache, leaving her no choise but to slow down.

Panting she looked around to determine which direction was best, she also used the opportunity to listen if she heard anything.

---

Hazel lifted her eyebrows, questions dancing in her eyes. She wasn't afraid of birds, couldn't imagine anyone be. She followed April inside and looked around. Her eyes darted over the furniture briefly before fixing on the bed in the middle of the room. She opened her mouth to ask about the blankets when she heard the chattering and noticed the figure. With a slight tilt of her head she examined the figure. The blue head and pink eyes were odd, unlike anything she had seen so far.

She was silent and observed, looking from April to the presumable mother of the family. Had her brother been here he would probably already started chatting to the lady, wether she could understand or reply or not. Hazel wasn't like that at all. She gave a slight nod in the direction of the figure.

[SporkoBug]

The sound of a battle suddenly broke out behind Marigold- The roaring of beasts and the loud grunts of the Ki-Rin.
Once Marigold started running, the beasts seemed to be too focused on fighting each other to see her run off. The little green bird from earlier suddenly started to fly around her, buzzing much like a humming bird.
It followed her quickly, dodging through the branches and trees before it stopped when she stopped. It buzzed around her before moving quickly to settle on the branch beside her.

There was suddenly silence around Marigold when she stopped, the wind seemed to be at a standstill. The sound of the fight was barely heard, and there was no sound of movement or footsteps around her either....
Well, Until now.

The sound of sudden footsteps hitting leaves echoed around the area, before it was followed by another pair. Both pairs came from two separate areas; A large Wolf leapt from the shadows and slid to a halt in front of Marigold, facing away from her before it shook itself and looked up to Marigold with familiar eyes.
Echo turned herself around and started to walk towards her slowly, keeping her head low and her ears back to show no harm.

The second pair of footsteps echoed more, before a larger, darker wolf skidded past the two of them. They slipped and stumbled and slammed their side into the nearest tree with a yelp.
"Hunter!" Echo spoke, torn between her brother and his partner. "Stay still." She told Marigold before heading over towards Hunter to help him up again.
"I'm fine." He uttered quietly, "Weak, but fine." He looked over to Marigold and his ears perked up almost immediately at her.

Hunter ran over to Marigold and circled around her happily, moving to sit beside her and ran his head under her hand gently.
"I'm here for you." He said, "I'm sorry I couldn't come earlier. Luckily Echo was free."

---

"Fay, it's a pleasure to see you again." April spoke out loud, moving in front of Hazel for a moment as she slowly walked through the room. "I brought a friend, we're hear to help you. I believe I have a curse breaker."
The womans ear-feathers pricked up slowly before she pulled her eyes towards Hazel. "Friend." She repeated, much like a parrot before April nodded once. "Curse. Break." She repeated.

April smiled and stopped at the bed, moving her hands out towards the woman. Fay moved to put her head into the demons hands without a second thought, to do this she stood up slightly, revealing her feathered body and twisted limbs.
"You see Hazel." April said as she was looking Fay over gently, "Fay is a harpie. But the witch decided it was a terrific idea to turn her into a full bird."
Fay snapped her beak at the mention of witches. "I'm sorry. I'm just explaining."

[Salenea]

The green bird buzzing and landing on a branch made Marigold feel more at ease, birds wouldn't perch down in immediate danger. The only question was, how long would she be safe, what if the beast would win over the Ki-rin... she would need to get safety quickly, she needed to find Hunter.

Her head jerked up when she heared footsteps. Fearing it would be the Beast again she tried to gathered some strenght in her unwilling legs that were wobbly from the earlier sprint. She stumbled backwards when the Wolf landed in front of her and she opened her mouth to scream when she looked into the familiar eyes. "Echo?" she asked.
When the other Wolf slammed into a tree Marigold muffled a shriek. She recognised Hunter and a reliefed sigh came over her lips.
"Hunter," she said happily before tears welled up in her eyes and she started crying while her hands went through Hunters fur. "There was a beast...a leopard or something...at a lake closeby...it said Guardians and it muzzle was blood splotched.... It could have killed me if I didn't get help from someone in the lake...." she managed to say in between sobs. She had been afraid and now the adrenaline rush was subsiding and she was safe again she couldn't help herself, the tension just had been too much and she felt to inadequate to cope with situations like that.

---

The witch had done what? Anger started to boil into Hazels veins. "I'm part harpy." Hazel said through her teeth as she tried to keep her head clear. She couldn't let her focus down and go full harpy now. She was ready to track down that witch and see if she could find more evidence of malice so she could flag the hag. Although shredding the witch with her talons sounded like an awfully good idea.

"what's the curse breaker?" Hazel asked, this would be very valuable information if she would ever get in a likewise situation. She would probably have to let Keith know too, just in case, eventhough she didn't like depending on him.

[SporkoBug]

Hunter moved to press his snout against Marigolds' chin as he settled into a sitting position. "It's okay. I'm here." He said calmly as Echo walked over to stand on the other side of Marigold, watching towards the way that the fight was happening before her ears pricked up and she looked towards the bird in the tree.
"Of course." Echo said with a small laugh, moving towards the tree slowly before the bird fluttered down to sit on her snout gently. "I should have known that you would be close by to Marigold." She said, the bird gave a happy tune before it fluffed its' wings and settled onto Echos snout more.

"What are you implying?" The bird replied, Echo grinned before she moved to sit down properly.
"Come on Gaia, you love Marigold." Echo said, the bird gave a small hum before fluffing her wings.

Hunter pressed himself into Marigold as she continued to cry, he kept himself by her before he looked to Echo.
"I'm going to take Marigold to yours." He said before he moved for Marigold to hop onto his back. "Come, I'll take you somewhere safe." He said carefully, "I'll make you some warm food."

---

Fay immediately looked over towards Hazel as she mentioned about being part Harpy.
"Harpy." She repeated, fluffing her feathers up slightly with a tilt of her head, "Friend." She repeated before she looked towards April as Hazel asked her a question.

"Funnily enough." April started before moving pull out a small blade. "Demon blood." She said before she placed the knife down and pulled out a small jar of glowing water.
"Demon blood mixed with Harpy dander and moon water." April said with an annoyed sigh, "It is so simple I looked right over it. Of course the other way would be to kill the Witch who did it but the witch was suppose to die a while ago but the curse is still on Fay."
Fay looked towards the knife and looked up to April with a tilt of her head. "Blood?" She asked before she looked to Hazel and then back to April with a worried expression. "Harm... You?"

[Salenea]

"I'm sorry Hunter, I feel a bit better now." Marigold said with a shaky but determined voice. "Thank you," she said as she leaned to press a small kiss on his snout. She looked at Echo and Gaia, "I still have a lot to learn I'm afraid, I am not ready for this job yet," she said with a sigh. Perhaps they made a mistake with picking her, after all what could a weak human do compared to them?

She looked at her dress, which wasn't too torn or dirty well... at least not as much as she had feared. "I rather go home Hunter, father expects me home with the ingredients for the meal I need prepare." Marigold jolted up. "Is the one that helped me all right? is the beast not following us?" she asked Gaia worriedly. Not that she really wanted Hunter to charge off to defeat whatever that was but if the threat wouldn't be eliminated how could she go back to the forest and forage when needed?

---

Demon blood, Harpy dander and moon water, she repeated it in her mind a few times. "Need a hand?" Hazel asked. She knew some people weren't exactly too eager to cut themselves, even for a good cause. Luckily, Hazel had no problems cutting herself, or others, for a little bit of blood if needed.

"So it could potentially mean that the witch is still alive or is it just a weirdly persistent curse?" there could be few reasons why a curse would linger after death. One would be with the help of a demon, another with an enchanted item hidden somewhere. There were a few more but those came to Hazel's mind.

[SporkoBug]

Echo smiled towards marigold as she spoke, "It's okay." She started, looking to Gaia quietly, "You'll learn. Everything takes time, Hunter was a woos when he was a young pup." She said with a laugh, "Well, so I've been told. Mia remembers most of it."
Gaia fluttered over to Marigold and gently landed on her shoulder. "We all take steps differently, We don't regret choosing you." She said before she pressed her head against Marigolds.

A small burning sensation echoed through Marigolds' skin, near just behind her ear.
"A gift from the forest to you." Gaia whispered, "A small, invisible sign. Myself and my brother will always be able to reach you." She said.

Hunter nodded at Marigolds' words, lowering himself to the ground.
"Hop on, I'll run you back." He said with a small nod, "We'll be safe. The Ki'rin has got things sorted." He said as he gently gave her a nudge.

---

April placed the moon water jug on the table beside them, moving to pull up her sleeve and held the knife to Hazel with a small smile.
"If you wish to help." She said calmly, "I will need your help anyway, Harpy dander is not something I can get easily." She said with a laugh.

She held her wrist over the water jar with a small smile, "I'm ready when you are." April said as she breathed in.
"The curse is persistent, We're not entirely sure why the curse is so strong. Apparently the Witch really didn't like Fay."
Fay watched April, her eyes showing worry as she looked towards Hazel.
"Please don't harm." She uttered to Hazel, watching April again carefully.

[Salenea]

Marigold smiled gratefully because of the kind words of everyone. It made her feel better instantly.
She reached with her hand to spot but couldn't feel anything, of course, but the remnants of the little burning sensation.
"Thank you Gaia," Marigold whispered emotionally.

Marigold would lie if she said she wasn't excited to ride on wolf back again. The anticipation already sent a familiar shiver of excitement down her spine.
"Drop me off near the edge, I'll walk the rest," she said as she climbed on, more nimble every time. She was starting to get good at climbing on Hunters back and make herself comfortable enough.

She was glad that the satchel had survived the running and all and she didn't lose her ingredients. Staying away for that long and return empty-handed would raise some serious questions.

---

Hazel took the knife and placed herself in the ideal position. She glanced at Fay, "Don't worry, it's a sharp knife, April will hardly feel a thing." As she spoke she quickly went over the soft flesh, making the cut deep enough to bleed lightly but not making too deep of a wound.

"Harpy dander coming up," Hazel said just before she transformed to the full harpy. With a loud cry, she shook herself vigorously. Her eyes rested on Fay and her blood started to boil. She was ready to find that witch and shred her with her talons. It took all of her human side to keep her more feral, harpy side under control and stay put.

"Anything else you need?" Like the heart of the witch, the liver of her daughters or her daughter's daughters Hazel put a stop to the train of thoughts that was dragging her focus away from the here and now.

[SporkoBug]

As Marigold thanked her, Gaia took to the air again and fluttered over to Echo and perched on her shoulder gently.
"You take care of her." Echo said jokingly to Hunter. "Be safe Marigold." She bowed her head to the female with a smile.

Hunter gave a huff to Echo's words before he felt Marigold got onto his back. He lifted himself up off the ground as he stepped forward. "Comfy?" He asked as he glanced back slowly. He was ready to go, but he wanted to make sure Marigold was ready as well.

---

April pressed her wound close as the blood dripped into the water, the blood slowly stopped flowing as the wound started to heal quickly.
The Demonwoman looked over to Hazel as she shook herself, moving to grab some of the dander that landed on the ground.
"Thank you Hazel." She said calmly, putting it into the water as well before she moved to stand up, stepping towards Hazel as she asked about anything else needed.

"All I need." April started, moving her hand to gently press her hand on Hazel's head. "Is for you to calm down, the Witch is gone, she has no children." She spoke softly, and had her eyes looking to Hazels. "I'm proud of your drive to help her, it's amazing."
Fay watched from the bed, before moving over towards the small jug before she tapped at the jug with a small trill.
April pulled away from Hazel and turned to Fay and gave a smile. "My apologies my love." She said as she moved to lift the jug, swishing it to mix the dander in.

[Salenea]

"I'm ready," she said, she wanted to stroke Hunter's back but she refrained from doing it. It was a familiarity she didn't want to give in to yet. Afterall Hunter still was a practical stranger if she'd look at it objectively. Subjectively it felt like she knew him forever. How could it be that every time he was near her she turned to him like a sunflower turned to the sun. On the way back to the village Marigold was lost in her thoughts. Instictively she held on as she wasn't really paying attention to her surroundings nor her riding on wolfback.

---

The red daze of bloodlust slowly subsided as April's words came through. It had been a while since she got carried away like that.
Hazel transformed back to her human shape. "I'm calm," she stated before she looked for a place to sit. Her inner harpy was still stirring but more subdued. With interest she followed April's movement. "Will it take effect right away or will it be slow process that takes regular doses of the potion?"

[SporkoBug]

Hunter nodded as he started off in a trot before it became a gallop, the world seemed to twist around him as he bounced between 'realms' to pass where the Kir'in and the Big Cat were still fighting. The trees in the different realm were a dark shade of midnight blue, the sky was a dark purple with little orange that were the stars.
Hunter gave a hefty jump as he reentered the normal realm and skidded to a halt, stepping forward slowly towards the forest line.
"We are here Marigold." He said softly, lowering himself to the ground.

---

April smiled as Hazel returned to her human form, moving to rub her hand through Hazel's hair as she sat down.
"Good, I just want you to be calm." She said softly before she looked to the potion that was fully mixed. Fay clicked her beak quietly, leaning out of the blankets to gently take it from April.
"She has to drink it all at once." She started, looking to Fay as she looked to the vial and swirled it in her hands. "It will be slow, but it will work. Not right away of course, she'll need about a week before it starts to happen physically. Mentally she'll be back to normal by the sunrise."
Fay moved to drink the potion once April stopped speaking, she winced and threw the empty container at the wall, surprisingly it bounced off and hit the ground instead of shattering.